**There was something about village-life that outsiders would never understand - it was rarely as serene and peaceful as first appearances would have you believe. Helena was lamenting that fact at this very moment in time - while the rest of her family were working in the village, she was tasked with watching over the livestock - a chore that she found both ridiculously boring and frustratingly monotonous. Women were expected to do one of only a few basic jobs - either watch the animals, cook, clean, mend or look after the children and infants...**
**Helena, at only a few short weeks past her nineteenth birthday, was a little bit of an oddity - other girls her age already had two or three children hanging off their aprons or were in the process of being married off. Helena was nothing if not contrary - stubborn as a mule, a trait that her mother and father teasingly blamed one another for. She was utterly useless at sewing, cleaning and cooking; she was as maternal as a stone. Thankfully, her family were quite understanding and hadn't insisted on her immediate betrothal upon coming of age - but nor were they about to let her trespass into 'man's work'.**
**How she longed to try her hand at something along those lines - she would have happily accompanied her uncle, a huge muscular lumberjack, on his work... or even hunted with her father and brothers. No, though... she had to watch the animals. This task wasn't without its moments of realisation, however - along this and several other torturous, elongated days; she had come to the rapid conclusion that sheep were by far the stupidest animal ever created. She had lost count of how often she'd needed to retrieve a blundering, directionless ewe or, even worse, a moronic lamb from becoming stuck down the banks of the lake they grazed by.**
**And the noise! Why did they have to make such an unholy racket? Not just the sheep, of course - the cows and goats were just as bad!**
**Jade green eyes lifted up to the greying gloom of the late-afternoon sky, the sun had been obscured by heavy rainclouds for the vast majority of the day; but the threatening storm had been held off all day - unfortunately. Should the downpour had started, it would meant that her cousin, John, would have come earlier to herd the animals away. A sigh lifted Helena's slight chest, a surprisingly dainty hand lifting to push strands of long honey-blonde hair back, away from her face. She allowed her usually-youthful brow to furrow as the sheep nearest the village bleated loudly and butted each other nearer the stream.**
**A grumble was given as Helena began the trek over to the panicking flock, an aggravated shake of the head - right up until those testy eyes fell on the village. An expression of abject terror intruded, hands flew up to her face and faltering, automatic steps back were taken. There was a new dreadful stillness to the air - time seemed to stand still and the atmosphere seemed dreadfully electrified with fear... and it didn't seem to be just from her. She could almost sense the sheer burgeoning terror emanating from the doomed village - and she could only watch as the corpse of her uncle was mauled, her mind cruelly making up every detail that the distance stole.**
**For a moment, her muscles tensed - instinct trying to rile her into running back into the village to be with her mother and younger siblings. Sheer terror forced her nerves to seize up, though, locking her into a cowardly stance; the subconscious battle between fight and flight locking her body momentarily into chilled shock.**
