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Shadows On The Hills

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Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land.





Please click on the image to enlarge and fullview. Thanks!

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Chance Encounters by SweetLittleVampire

Yes, yes I know, dude still doesn't have a proper ref sheet, but I figured it would be best if I first get him to stay before I automatically integrate him into the crew. As for the pic itself, Ludwig plays the piano in all of his existences. He also does so here, but I decided he would also know how to play the guitar, because...bonfires and guitars and romantic atmosphere and such.

As for Lui's travels, if you pull up a map of Europe, you can actually follow his travel route. Valensole is not too far from Genoa in Italy, so it works out perfectly.

This is what he is playing, by the way. He can sing it too. It's Feenie's favourite to listen to, and he loves to play it for her.

(Also, Don McLean's Vincent always makes me teary. Is this happening to anyone else?)




Isn't it funny how life sometimes goes? You meet a cute girl who mistakes you for her brother (and, after seeing him and realising just how alike you really look, you really can't blame her), you have cocoa and cake together, and you decide to come back to this place, instead of moving on, as you had planned. 

It had been an absolutely insane idea. At least, that's what his father had told him. Ludwig had finished university and would have theoretically been ready to start teacher training for high schools, but he had decided otherwise. He wanted to see the world first, travel around a bit, and have fun before the serious side of life would be claiming him for good.

"I'm not going to leave the continent", he assured. "That would be too expensive if I want to take the horse with me."

"Vagabonding around with a horse and a guitar...like in medieval times!" His father had shaken his head. "I am half expecting you to end up under some princess' balcony, serenading her so you can ask her hand in marriage."

Lui had laughed. "Perhaps I'll ask for her hand, but then decide that I like her brother too, and kill two birds with one stone."

This had made his father laugh. Mr Monscher had known that there was no use in talking his son out of his plan. Perhaps it was the best thing to do for him, to get out for a while, away from this place that held so many bitter memories. Of course he was worried. Ludwig was his only child, and at this point his son could not tell him when he would be back, only that he would come back, some day. He had already lost his wife; he was unsure if he could stomach the loss of his son. The most important thing however was that his kid was happy, and if he wanted to spread his wings and explore the world, who was he to stop him?

So he had given his late wife's engagement ring as a keepsake and good-luck-charm to Lui, alongside some money to get him started, and sent him off.

He had received the first letter not long after.

Ludwig had taken the habit of sending a letter to his father along with some pictures from every new place he arrived to. He also made sure to give his old man a call now and then, and since he was moving through Europe, this happened quite frequently. He had a bit of a bad conscience for leaving his father alone like that, but the urge to leave and go on an adventure to find...something - maybe even himself? - had grown bigger every day. He had first left Berlin and moved to the east, travelled through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, then over to Austria, Italy, and then over to France. He had been on the road for quite a few months now, accepting small jobs wherever he could and wanted to (or needed to). Whenever he could ride a distance on horseback, he did so, if not, he used the money his father had given him to borrow a trailer so he could transport Feenie around. 

So now he was in Valensole. He was a bit sad that he didn't arrive here at the time of the lavender blossom. Although the region's lavender was one of the first ones to bloom in all of France, it would have taken him until July to see it, and he really didn't know whether he wanted to stay for that long. But he felt like both Feenie and him needed a bit of a longer rest than the usual ones. He found a small hostel and a place at a barn for his horse to stay at for the time being, while he went hunting for a job.

So it seemed like more than just a mere coincidence that this cute girl - Hannah was her name, right? - had brought him to this stable. He loved the atmosphere there, and returned several times for their homemade lemon and lavender cake. He booked a room at their B&B and a stall for Feenie, and soon decided he wanted to stay for a while longer and possibly work at the stable for the time being. So he talked to the owner, a charming woman with chocolate hair and periwinkle eyes.

"It's not that I don't want to employ you", she said. "I just cannot afford to pay you a full wage at the moment."

"I don't necessarily need a full wage. I mean - I understand you'd have to pay me for legal reasons, but honestly? As long as I'd have a roof to sleep under for me and my mare, and something to eat for both of us for a while, I'd be happy."

"Do you have any experience with training riders or competing?"

"Feenie and I have competed, but only on low levels. If I could use your office to send a mail to my father? He could email you scanned copies of all  the certificates. As for training...I don't really have experience in that field, but I can learn."

The woman, Rebecca, asked for a few days to contemplate on the offer. Lui agreed.

She knocked on his door two days later, bringing along a cup of tea, a piece of cake, and a stack of paper.

"I've already told you I cannot pay you full wage. My previous stable was destroyed in a fire. Insurance did pay, but this one one still needs to be paid off, and since it's an old property...you know, repairs and all that stuff. But we could always use an extra pair of helping hands, so...here is what I could offer."

She handed him a piece of paperwork. On it was the sum of money he would earn per month - not the world, but certainly more than what he would get from waiting tables.

"You and your mare can stay here. You can use all the facilities to keep her in shape, even take training lessons if you wish to. In return, you will help with daily chores and competition preparations...here's a list of what that would entail."

She handed him a second sheet. From grooming horses to cleaning up stalls, up to helping at the café and the B&B - everything seemed doable, and according to this list, it would be reasonably scheduled.

"And if you're interested in making an extra bit of money, we could find you some low level competitions for you to enter."

Lui took the rest of the contract, read it, and smiled.

"Looks like we have a deal!"

"Great! If you could sign here - " she handed him a pen - "thank you. And, if you like - we'll all have dinner together at about seven. It's a tradition; every Monday, a different staff member cooks for all of us. You could join us, and I'll introduce you to everyone."

He had joined them and brought his guitar. This had been one of the warmest business introductions he had experienced so far. They didn't take themselves too seriously and laughed a lot. Sitting there with them felt a bit like being home.

Strangely, that feeling left him feeling sad, and this sadness lingered around even the next day. So he took his guitar and sat on a hay stack, next to Feenie's stall. The mare pricked her ears and breathed calmly as Lui started to play. She always calmed down when he played that particular song, and he liked to play it when he was missing his mother the most. It had been her favourite song, and despite its sad lyrics, the melody reminded him of her smile, and managed to cheer him up.

"The starry nights out here on the plateau are beautiful, since we have next to no light pollution", Rebecca had explained. "They're just as breathtaking in the snow as in the lavender season."

His mother would have loved them.




Pose reference by SenshiStock
Free wood pattern by invent on brusheezy
Image size
3508x4961px 18.19 MB
© 2018 - 2024 SweetLittleVampire
Comments5
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Winxhelina's avatar
Aww, that was such a sweet and moving story. I really enjoy reading about your characters and all they do and I'm really glad you introduced Lui into this universe so we get to know him even better. He looks really handsome. I like the guitar too. The reflection on it is really nice.  As established I like pictures with music instruments on them.