Nina's Observations, Entry 3: The Arrow Family

Part 3 of the ever-growing Nina's Observations Series.

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Journal Entry 15

I have continued to linger near the Arrow-Wood Farm after I finished observing the Wood Family. I remained to observe the Arrow Family next since I’d only have to come back at a later time to observe them if I moved on to somewhere else.

Master stops by on occasion, to check on me. He says it is to make sure I am alright, but I think he does it to make sure I’m doing the Observation Project, and not just hiding out in the forest during the day.

I understand his reasoning for all of this, of course. He wants me to be able to interact with people; I won’t be able to get very far if I can’t. And he won’t be around forever; one day, I’m going to be on my own, whether because my apprenticeship is over, or because Master has passed away.

But while I think that getting to know the people of the town a little before I try and actually enter the town is a good thing for me, and gets me out of the Tower and the forest, I do not think it is going to be as simple as Master believes.

Still, I shall keep at it. Because I want to make Master proud, and I will do whatever I have to in order to make that happen.

Villager Observation 3 - The Arrow Family

The Arrow Family of the Arrow-Wood Farm focuses on farming. They grow fruits and vegetables in the fields around their house, and they even tend to an Orchard not too far from the property.

There are four members of the Arrow Family. The eldest is Marian Arrow. She is the mother of Sandra Arrow, who is an adult woman with two children - Scott Arrow and Jenna Arrow. Marian’s husband, Gunnar, passed away some time ago. Sandra’s husband Andrew, on the other hand, just up and left without saying anything - no one knows where he went, or why he left.

It left Sandra and Marian to raise the little ones. They seem to have managed quite well, though as the only boy in the family, Scott seems to think he can get away with more, which is not true; his grandmother appears to be quite strict, while his mother appears a little more lenient - though she still doesn’t let him get away with things.

Still, both children help out on the farm and do their share of the daily chores. They know better than to try and run off without doing their share - Scott attempted to do that one day, and one of the farm hands that help with the fields was sent off to fetch him back. I do not know what his mother or grandmother did to punish him for trying to leave his sister to do his share of the chores, but judging from the miserable expression on his face, and the way he kept rubbing his backside, I feel it safe to assume that one of them gave him a hiding.

The only day, it appears, that either of the children can get away with not doing some of their chores is their birthdays. Jenna’s fourteenth birthday fell during my Observation of the Arrow Family, and I noticed that Jenna only did about half of her normal chores before her grandmother came and took over, letting her go off early to play with her cousin, Erik, and some of the other children. Her brother, on the other hand, had to remain until he’d completed all of his chores before he could go and join his sister, cousin, and friends.

The children of the Arrow Family are quite difficult to observe during the daytime, as they tend to play inside of the town, where I do not feel comfortable going. Their mother and Grandmother remain of the farm most of the time, though, so I have been able to observe them with relative ease.

Their grandmother is an older woman, getting on in her years. She is still quite active, though, and keeps the farm hands on their toes. She is a bit set in her ways, though, and I do not think she is someone I feel safe talking to, in case she realises I am a Witch.

Sandra, on the other hand, seems a little more lenient than her mother. I am still not entirely sure she’s safe to approach either, but she seems a little more of an open-minded, accepting person - at least when compared to her mother and her cousins.

It is Jenna, though, that intrigues me. There is something about the fourteen-year-old - something that reminds me of myself when I was her age. I would not mind the opportunity to observe her a little more closely, to confirm if my suspicions are true, or if I am just being overly hopeful. But that will have to wait until I feel a little more comfortable entering the town. That is the only way I can get the opportunity.