I had to get out of town quickly. I mean, it wasn’t my fault the sheriff of Terrydale thought I “deflowered” his “precious angel.” It was a late night, and she happened to have a room in the tavern I was a patron at. We had been chatting at the bar for most of the night. When she invited me up, who was I to say no?
It was pretty clear to me that, despite what her father may think, little Josephine had lost her flower well before our tryst. Would I have slept with the sheriff’s daughter had I known who she was, probably, but I would have given it a second thought. Nonetheless, when we parted ways the next day I didn’t think there would be much to come of it. Much to my dismay however, I started to hear word on the wind that the sheriff was looking for the “unholy scoundrel who sullied my beautiful daughter.” I strongly object to the first part. As to the second part, she was the one who asked me to uh...sully her petite rear.
“You really should keep your head down at the very least,” my good friend Alrich advised me. “If he finds you, at the very best he will just run you out of town. At worst I’ll be finding you in a gutter in a week or so.”
“Do you really think so?” I asked him.
“I know so,” was his reply. “Do you remember what happened to Ulfrich?”
“No...wait, yeah! Wasn’t he the one who somebody had, erm...made a eunuch?” I grimaced.
“Yes, and Ulrich had been screwing around with the sheriff’s niece. I mean, the sheriff doesn’t even like his sister, but he had Ulrich’s gibbets removed because he was diddling young Stasia. Get out. The sooner the better.”
“You’re right. You’re right,” I conceded. “I’ll have to get my things together, but I’ll be gone tomorrow bright and early.”
“Don’t stress yourself. The sheriff will soon get his hackles raised about something else and he’ll have forgotten all about you. Most likely Josephine will have made another midnight rendezvous or two before the week is out, and she’ll have forgotten about you too.”
“Ouch.” I smiled at his jab. “Well, I’ll be back. Don’t worry about that. I’ll lay low until tomorrow and then head out.” We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Alrich was a good man. It's too bad we wouldn’t cross paths for a while now.
Getting out was the easy part. Keep your hood up, look busy, and keep walking. Fortunately the markets were closing for the week so I had my choice of crowds to accompany on my way out of town. The only potentially close call I had was when heading past the western gate. Despite my best efforts a guard chose just the right time to work his way into the crowd. Fortunately for me, the particular guard, a man named August, and I went way back. I had once gotten August out of a tight spot. He wouldn’t turn me in despite his overzealous boss.
At this point, none of that mattered. I was leagues away after a couple hours of walking now. Traveling with a little cluster of traders and families headed back to their farms, through most of the morning I eventually headed south on a side road. I didn’t have a specific destination in mind, I just wanted to get enough distance between myself and Terrydale. If I didn’t dally I could make it to Blackhall or Emberly by early tomorrow afternoon.
Honestly things could be a lot worse. It was a beautiful day. I was happy, healthy, and my pack was well stocked. Stopping for a moment, I took a good look around me for the first time since leaving town. There was a reason I had been spending time in Terrydale. It was a beautiful countryside. Just outside the city was a rolling landscape of fields and thickets. Scatterings of trees dotted the landscape and the wildflowers were in bloom. Overhead birds called their chirrups and trills to each other. I had to count myself lucky.
After a couple turns on the back roads, I was on what might best be described as a rough footpath meandering its way through the landscape. Pausing I took a moment to examine some flowers growing on the side of the path. They grew a few inches off the ground, small and white, with a hint of blue. I picked one and examined it as a few bees buzzed by. It smelled...I couldn’t describe exactly what it smelled like, but it did remind me of someone. Some lover who’s name may be forgotten, but her smell, her taste, her warmth were not.
Tentatively I popped the flower in my mouth. Disappointing to be honest, no lover’s remembrance here, really no real taste at all. Not the outcome I wanted, but a brief snack. My stomach wanted some food, but I was going to wait until at least getting past the ford of the Lesser Jules until I would stop for lunch.
From the looks of it the Jules wasn’t that far away at this point anyway. The Jules River was the main waterway that cut through the country, connecting most of the major cities and towns. The Lesser Jules was a tributary that passed nearest to Terrydale before meeting with the Jules proper nearer to Hollygate. I even passed most of a season as a ferryman at the Hollygate crossing once. It was good, honest work. I met interesting people, heard some interesting stories, and met a few...charmers that way. This would be my first time crossing the Lesser Jules in quite a while.
I could see it cutting across the green of the landscape. Lazily it poured from the north, tumbling over rocks and little falls. Honestly I could pretty easily swim across it if I wanted. The Lesser Jules was probably no deeper than I am tall, and was a short stone’s throw across. Swimming came easily enough to me, and on more than one occasion it saved my life while working on the ferry. Today though, if I could avoid having to get soaked if I would. The Jules River proper was usually pretty tame, but in the early Spring after the rains things could get treacherous.
Fortunately though, the Lesser Jules was picturesque. Alongside it were brushes and reeds, and all up and down its banks were dotted with clusters of trees. I longed to rest in the shade of the trees, but knew I should make my way across. The footpath led up to a low sandy beach, its entrance was flanked on each side by some brush. Here the river was just a gentle ford, the water looked to be no deeper than knee height. At the bottom, it looked mostly sandy, but was dotted with a few rocks to be wary of.
Taking off my shoes and rolling up my trousers, I made sure my bag was tightly packed. Holding my shoes up I placed an uncertain step forward into the river. It was pleasantly cool. Stepping further into the river the water was up to my calves, but the sand felt good on my feet after the leagues I had traveled. Halfway across, I had made it to the deepest point and had only had to catch my balance twice. Both times an unseen rock had nearly tripped me up. I could see fish dart around me, mostly unconcerned with the intruder stomping by their little domain.
On the other side of the river there was more stable footing, so I splashed my way up to the sandy bank. It seemed though, I wasn’t alone there.
“Oh, hello there!” a voice called up from a little further the river. I turned to see a lovely young blond sitting on a rock by the shore under the shade of a tree. She was dipping her feet in water, letting them cool. She struck me as some sort of river goddess. The young woman gave me a friendly wave. Taking this as an invitation, I made my way around some bushes, and while still barefoot stepped my way over to her.
Further up from the shore she had laid a blanket in the shadow of a large oak tree. On it sat her sandals and a small pack. Against the oak tree leaned a long crook.
“Good day to you,” I said in greeting. “I apologize, I didn’t see you there. I was a little preoccupied getting across the river.”
Turning around, she smiled up at me. She was wearing a simple white dress with a set of buttons fastening down the front. Her long hair was braided and trailed down her back. “Don’t worry yourself. You must be traveling well off the beaten path to find yourself in my little woods.” Getting up, she walked over to her blanket and sat down crossing her legs under herself. “Why don’t you sit down for a while and tell me about yourself? It has been a while since I’ve talked to anyone new. I’m Florence by the way, though you can call me Flora if you’d like.” She blushed, and briefly looked away.
Finding a spot on the blanket, I sat down across from her. “It’s very nice to meet you Flora. You can call me Journey.” She gently shook my outstretched hand as I asked, “What are you doing out here?”
“Well, this is my family’s land on this side of the river for about a league in each direction. We do a number of things, but for right now we are focusing on tending a herd of sheep,” she explained.
“So you’re a shepherdess!”
“You could call me that, but I don’t think I’m one, not really. It’s mostly easy work at the moment. They usually keep out of trouble,” she said as she looked around at a couple of the fluffy white creatures nearby. Turning back to me she asked, “What are you doing all the way out here?”
“Well, at the moment I’m making my way to Emberly,” I said. “I have a couple connections around there.”
She lit up, “Oh I love Emberly. It’s just a lovely little town. Have you been there before?”
“I worked for a while there one harvest season,” I shared.
“I wish I could go too,” Flora said just a little sadly. “They have such lovely gardens around the town center. The flowers are wonderful this time of year.” She looked so earnest and sweet.
Moving closer, “Maybe you can come with me?” I offered.
The shepherdess looked a bit resigned. “As much as I’d love to go to Emberly again, I’m needed here. Mom passed away a couple years back, and my dad hasn’t been doing the best lately. It’s too important for me to stay here. Besides, he wouldn’t want me going anywhere with a...young man.” She looked up slyly at me.
Putting on an air of innocence, “I would never take any fair young maiden into danger.” Putting a hand over my chest, “On my honor, I swear it.”
In a quiet voice she said, “You think I’m fair?” It seemed obvious to me that she wasn’t used to the kind of attention I was giving her. Living with her family, especially in these circumstances, she likely didn’t have a chance to interact too often with a handsome young gentleman like me. She was innocent, beautiful but innocent.
Moving a bit closer to her on the blanket, “Believe me when I say this, you are the loveliest creature I’ve met in a long time.” Flora blushed but it was true. She had wonderful blue eyes behind long lashes. Due to her work, her skin had seen some sun. As a result she had freckles dotting all the skin I could see. Self consciously, she turned away and stretched, unintentionally emphasizing her breasts underneath her dress. Just then my stomach broke the tension by letting out a loud growl.
She started giggling quietly, but then it grew to laughter. It was infectious and I started laughing with her. Flora covered her face, tears in her eyes. We both laughed until it hurt. Eventually we both stopped. She lay back on the blanket for a few moments to catch her breath.
“Oh, oh my, do we think we can tame that beast,” sitting up. “Would you like to share some lunch?”
“That would be great. What have you got?” Looking through my bag, ”I’ve packed some dried fruit, salted pork, and some biscuits.” I showed her my offerings. Folding my jacket, I placed it into the bag.
Rooting through her own pack, she lifted out a small loaf of bread, some smoked fish, and a skin of water. “I’d love some of the fruit if you have any to spare.” Handing her some, Flora said, “Thanks!” with a shy smile. I briefly brushed her outstretched hands. They were warm to the touch.
