Rather than following his companions, Gareth halted a short distance off, his attention divided between Myra's flushed face and the silent figure of Freya. He gave a nervous chuckle, attempting to diffuse the lingering tension. “Now, Myra, no need to get so worked up. They didn’t mean any harm, just… a bit of harmless fun after a long day’s work. You know how they are.” His attempt to downpy his friends’ behavior and perhaps regain Myra’s favor felt clumsy and insincere in the charged atmosphere.
Gareth finally turned his attention directly to Freya, offering a hesitant smile. “And you are…?” he inquired, his gaze lingering on her with a mixture of curiosity and something akin to appraisal. “My name is Gareth. I’m a childhood friend of Myra’s. We’ve known each other since we were little.” He extended a hand towards Freya, his attempt at polite introduction feeling somewhat forced and awkward after his friends’ earlier behavior.
Freya regarded Gareth’s outstretched hand with an unreadable expression, making no move to take it. She remained silent for a long moment, her crimson eyes fixed on him. Gareth, perhaps misinterpreting her silence as shyness, pressed on with a slightly wider smile. “Your name must be Freya,” he stated, his tone now more confident, as if he had deduced a simple fact.
A flicker of shock, quickly masked, crossed Freya’s features. Disbelief warred with a sudden prickle of unease. How could this mortal man know my name? It was not a common name in the vilge, and she had been careful in her interactions. Beside her, Myra’s brow furrowed in confusion and a growing sense of worry. She gnced from Gareth to Freya, her mind racing, trying to understand this unexpected turn of events. The casual atmosphere of their walk had completely vanished, repced by a palpable tension and a host of unsettling questions.
“You must be the new woman who’s taken over the old antique shop,” Gareth continued, his gaze still fixed on Freya, a knowing glint in his eyes now. A smug sense of satisfaction began to bloom within Gareth. He had gleaned snippets of information around the vilge and Myra's frequent visits to the long-abandoned shop. Piecing it together felt like a small victory, a way to subtly assert his connection to Myra and perhaps even pce himself above this mysterious woman.
Freya’s attention shifted instantly to Myra, a silent question and a hint of arm in her crimson depths. Myra, equally perplexed and now deeply worried, turned to Gareth, her voice sharp with suspicion. “How do you know that, Gareth?” she demanded, her earlier anger resurfacing. “How do you know her name, and how do you know about the shop?” Her mind raced, trying to connect the pieces of this unsettling puzzle.
Gareth shrugged, a seemingly innocent expression on his face. “Oh, it’s nothing mysterious, Myra. My mother mentioned it the other day. Your grandmother was talking to her at the market, worried about you spending so much time up there. She said you’d been going in and out of the old antique shop quite a bit tely. Everyone in the vilge knows it’s been closed and empty for years, so a new owner is bound to be the talk of the town, especially one as… striking as Freya.” His expnation sounded pusible, a typical piece of vilge gossip, yet Myra couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more behind his knowing gaze. The way he emphasized Freya’s appearance felt pointed, almost possessive. The unease that had settled over her earlier intensified, a cold premonition whispering in the back of her mind. Gareth watched Myra’s reaction closely, a gleam of something akin to triumph in his eyes. He’d seen Myra seemed attached to this women tely, and a possessive curiosity had taken root. Revealing his knowledge about Freya was a way to disrupt their connection, to remind Myra of her ties to the vilge and, by extension, to him.
A hint of curiosity briefly appeared on Gareth’s features when Freya didn’t immediately offer her hand. He told himself it was just her being reserved, perhaps unused to the straightforwardness of vilge life. He’d always been good at putting people at ease, and he wouldn’t let this beautiful newcomer’s initial coolness deter him. There was something intriguing about her quiet intensity, the way her crimson eyes seemed to hold a depth he couldn’t quite fathom. He found himself inexplicably drawn to her, a feeling that both excited and slightly unnerved him.
Despite his seemingly casual expnation, a smug sense of satisfaction warmed Gareth from the inside. He had noticed Myra’s frequent trips to the long-abandoned antique shop and, being a curious soul, had inquired with his mother. The news of a striking new woman taking over the pce had immediately piqued his interest. Seeing Myra with this woman, a woman with such an unusual and memorable name as Freya, confirmed his suspicions that something interesting was brewing. He wanted to know more about Freya, about her connection to Myra, and perhaps, a selfish part of him admitted, about Freya herself.
Panic flickered in Myra’s eyes. She had to get Gareth away from Freya, away from any more questions he might ask or assumptions he might make. Without a word, she reached out and grabbed Gareth’s arm, her grip surprisingly firm. “Come on, Gareth,” she said urgently, tugging him in the direction of the vilge. “It’s te. I need to get home.”
She turned briefly to Freya, her eyes pleading. “You should go home too, Freya. It was… nice seeing you.” Her words felt rushed and inadequate, but she didn’t dare linger, afraid of what Gareth might say or do. Without waiting for a response, Myra began to pull Gareth along the road, practically dragging him towards the flickering lights of the vilge. She didn’t look back, her focus solely on putting distance between Gareth and Freya.
Freya watched them go, her crimson eyes narrowed in thought. Myra’s sudden urgency, the desperate plea in her eyes, and the way she physically pulled Gareth away did not escape her notice. A knot of worry tightened in her chest. Gareth knowing her name and about the shop was unsettling, but Myra’s reaction was even more concerning. She stood alone on the moonlit road, the silence amplifying the unease that had settled over the evening, the image of Myra dragging Gareth towards the vilge lingering in her mind.
