[Memory] What we now know

Open for Play
Anaxas' main trade port; it is also the nation's criminal headquarters, home to the Bad Brothers and Silas Hawke, King of the Underworld. The small town of Plugit is nearby.

User avatar
Ava Weaver
Posts: 303
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:17 am
Topics: 11
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Writer: moralhazard
Writer Profile: Writer Profile
Post Templates: Plot Notes
Contact:

Wed Jun 26, 2019 1:54 am

Afternoon, 31 Bethas 2708
The Tucker's Home, Cantile, Old Rose Harbor
N ellie set her hands on her hips and stared Flo down. She lifted her small chin, and gazed down her nose at the younger girl, one corner of her mouth lifting into a sneer, and held the pose for one - two - three heartbeats. Then, just as effortlessly, she dropped the look in favor of a bright grin, sliding back into her seat at the old kitchen table.

“See?” Nellie said cheerfully. “There’s a trick to it, really. It’s not so hard.”

It was a warm, sunny afternoon in late spring, the sort when the world seemed alive with promise. It was the time of year when even the scraggly weeds that grew in the Rose seemed to glow a healthy, vibrant green. The sun streamed through mended curtains into the kitchen, not cowed by the distant clouds steadily thickening on the horizon and the promise of the rainy season to come. It wasn’t yet so hot and humid that the little girls couldn’t stand to be in the kitchen with a pot of soup bubbling on the wood-fired stove.

The soup was Nellie’s responsibility, as the oldest, and after a moment at the table she hopped to her feet and went to the stove, stirring a spoon through the pot, pushing hard at something on the bottom when it stuck. There was a quiet scraping, and then the spoon moved freely again, the smell of vegetables tinged with meat wafting through the air. Nellie grabbed a pot holder and shoved the soup pot to the back of the stove, the rapid bubbling slowing to a gentle simmer.

Flo was giggling, and she nudged Caina with her elbow. “Didja see that? She did her face just like Mrs. Wells,” Flo said, tone hushed and admiring.

Nellie came back to the table and sat again. She settled comfortably against the chair, resting her elbows on the table and propping her chin on her hands, looking at the two younger girls sitting across from her. Caina was a regular enough visitor to the house, even since their move now almost two years ago from King’s Court to Cantile; generously, Nellie thought of her like another cousin.

“Do another?” Flo asked, hopefully. “Oh, Nell, do the witch again!”

Nellie grinned, glancing back over her shoulder at the doorway into the rest of the house, then back at Flo and Caina. Her mother and aunt weren’t in sight and, Nellie hoped, maybe they were too busy with the mending upstairs to be keeping an ear out for things Nellie wasn’t supposed to be doing.

Nellie cleared her throat. “It ent hard,” Nellie said, casually. Her accent broadened, childish timbre deepening a little. “You jus’ gotter use a coupla new words, s’all, ‘n jus’ - slur it all a bit. Fair benny.”

“NELLIE TUCKER!” The voice of Ava’s aunt and Flo’s mother echoed down the stairs, sharp and angry. “None of that spokes tongue in this house, you hear me? Flo, you best not be listening!”

“Aw,” Flo said, softly. She huffed, putting her arms on the table and resting her cheek on them. “She always knows...”

Nellie chewed on her lip, studying the two little figures in front of her. “Well – if she don’t want it in the house - let’s go out,” Nellie’s big dark eyes widened, and she grinned again, uncowed by the (not uncommon) scolding. “We’ll tell them we’re running errands for your dad. He won’t mind,” Nellie said, confidently, climbing to her feet.

“He might,” Flo objected, small face pinching tight.

“Not if he don’t know about it,” Nellie explained.

Flo smoothed out, and she grinned, standing and shoving the chair back with a little clattering noise. “Oh, yes! Can we see the tumblers again, Nell?”

“Of course,” Nellie said, generosity ringing in her voice. “I heard there’re good ones, down by the Waterfront. We’ll go and find them.” Nellie went to the doorway, looking up the stairs, grabbing the skirt of her little blue dress to whisk it out of the way of the old wooden door frame, the warped wood gleaming clean from a thorough cleaning. “Ma, Auntie, the soup is simmering! We’ve gotta go run an errand for Uncle!”

“All right! Be good!” Nellie’s mother was the one to call down the stairs this time, her voice lighter and friendlier than the scolding from Nellie’s aunt.

Nellie turned back to Flo and Caina both, and grinned. “There, all sorted.” She raised a little eyebrow at Caina. She looked bright and cheerful, with a mess of frizzy dark hair pulled half-heartedly back with a little white ribbon. She was small for twelve, but bigger than Flo and especially Caina, with a broad smile that spread effortlessly from ear to ear. Just now, she also had a thoroughly mischievous glint in her dark eyes. “Coming, Caina Rose?”

Image
Last edited by Ava Weaver on Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Tags:
User avatar
Caina Rose
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri May 31, 2019 6:10 pm
Topics: 7
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: Plot Notes
Writer: Bash
Post Templates: Post Templates
Contact:

Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:52 pm

The Cantile • Vienda/Old Rose Harbor
on the 31st of Bethas, 2708 • during the afternoon
Caina Rose had turned eight less than a month ago, at the beginning of Bethas. She was a fairly average child, if a little shorter than a human girl should be. Her black hair was tucked into a ponytail every morning by her father, but lately Caina had begun the process of learning to do it herself. Usually nice and neat, the heat of the day and Caina’s active lifestyle had drawn dozens of tiny strands of hair out of the tail, and they were now sticking wildly in all directions. She wore a simple dress made out of an itchy fabric, but patterned with pink flowers, and a dirty pair of sandals. The dress had been a birthday present, so the dirt of the Harbor hadn’t quite settled into it, although that would likely happen as soon as the first rain left the streets covered in mud.

Today, however, the weather was close to perfect. Caina usually spent her days with her father at the customs office, but this morning she had begged Sebastian to let her go to her friend’s house. This usually wasn’t such an issue, because Flo used to live very close to them- but she’d recently moved to the Cantile. Still not far, but far enough that Sebastian worried about something happening to his little girl. But Caina had her father wrapped around her finger, and he’d finally relented. So she’d made the short trek to her friends house, while her father headed off to the docks.

The day had crept by rather quickly, until Caina found herself sitting with Flo and her older cousin Nellie. They had to play inside, because Nellie had been charged with watching the soup. Caina was amazed by the older girl, at the way she seemed to move with such confidence, and how she knew everything there was to know about everything. After some time spent at the table, Caina and Flo had begged Nellie to do her impressions. They were a riot, even if they made the adults mad. Caina giggled quietly as Nellie’s face seemed to easily mimic Mrs. Wells, an old crone that yelled at children from her porch down the street.

The soup smelled amazing, and Caina silently wished that Flo would invite her to dinner. Sebastian Rose was working late tonight, and Caina did not wish to spend the evening alone with her mother. But the little girl was polite, and she wouldn’t ask that of them. Not when Flo’s family was so much bigger, and they had less to go around. Besides, it’s not like her mother was that bad…

Caina shook herself from her thoughts as Nellie returned to the table. She nodded along with Flo, grinning eagerly at the older girl. As Flo’s mother yelled down from the stairs Caina flinched, and her hand darted out to grab a hold of her friend’s, where it lay on the table.

The suggestion of going to the Waterfront brought Caina to her feet. She loved the Waterfront, and loved the acrobats even more. Caina waited by her chair as Nellie got permission from her mother, and continued to wait until the older girl looked at her.

Caina thought she could hear her own heart beat as they locked eyes. Many children in the neighborhood teased Caina. She was very shy and quiet but when she did speak, she used large words. And her choice to stay inside with her father on most days made her seem aloof. When Nellie spoke, Caina thought she could hear a challenge. ‘Are you going to disobey the adults and come have fun with us? Are you too chicken?’

Caina would never admit to being a chicken. Especially not to Nellie. She nodded resolutely, one hand twisting in her skirt as she grinned a huge grin at the pair of cousins.

Caina followed Nellie and Flo through the streets of the Cantile, towards the Waterfront. The custom’s office was located there, maybe Caina could convince the other girls to visit him? For now, she looked forward to seeing the acrobats.
The streets of the Rose were filled with people running about their business. The sun kept most of the unsavory types away from the streets- at least in the areas that the girls would run in. They’d have a safe trip to the docks, and Caina’s grin only widened as they got to the acrobats.
“There they are!”
She yelled, squeezing Flo’s hand in excitement. The crowds were much thicker here, as pedestrians stopped to watch the shows. There was music playing nearby, and Caina began to pull her friend towards it.
“Let’s go!”

User avatar
Ava Weaver
Posts: 303
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:17 am
Topics: 11
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Writer: moralhazard
Writer Profile: Writer Profile
Post Templates: Plot Notes
Contact:

Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:20 pm

Afternoon, 31st Bethas, 2708
The Wharf, Old Rose Harbor
Caina looked at her a long moment, then grinned and nodded. Nellie grinned back wider at her. She liked Caina, even if she was a bit of an odd duck. With that weird ma of hers though, Nellie thought it pretty much figured. Her da was nice though, always real friendly; Nellie knew he and her uncle talked business sometimes, important stuff that made her uncle cheerful sometimes and grumpy others.

The three little girls set off from the house in Cantile. Most of the streets were slow and quiet, but Flo held Caina‘s hand the whole time anyway, her grip firm and tight. At the first big intersection, where wagons and people criss-crossed the busy street in incomprehensible patterns, Nellie didn’t hesitate to take Flo’s hand. Confidently, she led the other two across, dodging wagon wheels and puddles both.

At the second, it was Caina’s hand Nellie grabbed, just as easily as she had taken Flo’s. The smallest girl was held tightly by the other two as the three dashed across the street, weaving through the traffic with an easy carelessness. Nobody in the Rose seemed to look twice at the three little girls in their little dresses, messy only in the way of excited children kept clean at night.

Flo shrieked in excitement, high-pitched, at the first glimpse of the tumblers through the heavy crowd. “Look at them!” She took off with Caina, the two girls easily able to work their way through the larger men and women of the Rose. Nellie followed along, grinning. She wasn’t much bigger than Flo and could easily nudge her way through the busy pedestrians, careful not to lose sight of the two younger girls; there were too many stories told about what happened to little girls who got lost in the Rose.

The acrobats were everything the girls had dreamed. It was a troupe of wicks, maybe a dozen all told, spread out along once of the piers. There was an elderly woman, bent half-double, with frothing white hair, studying the palm of a pretty young woman with neat blonde hair braided down her back, a sheepish looking young man standing not far behind. Nellie watched, fascinated, as the elderly woman laughed, looked up at the young man and winked, making color rise in his cheeks.

Two of the wicks were selling food, one hot round bits of puffed dough topped with white sugar, the other twists of paper with popped corn inside. Nellie’s stomach grumbled, although neither she or Flo had any money for such indulgences; it was one thing to skip out on the stew, but another entirely to take hard-earned coin for such fleeting pleasures.

The centerpiece of it all was two young men, wearing nothing more than bright colored wide-legged pants, their tanned, athletic bodies contorting in impossible ways to the sounds of a drum and a bright piping flute being played by two of their friends. As the crowd cheered, one stepped on the hand of the other and launched himself backwards, flipping and twisting in the air and landing effortlessly, facing the crowd with his arms spread. Nellie joined the others in cheering without hesitation, eyes wide and bright.

The two men nudged the wide woven basket where coins were already falling, and set off into another round of tricks.

“So?” Nellie turned to Caina and Flo, giggling. “What do you think?” She set her hands on her hips, looking proud and cheerful at having delivered on the promise of tumblers.

“Gather round, one ‘n all!” Called a loud voice, a woman stepping forward. She wore little more than the men, her own wide bright pants and a brightly colored breastband, attached at the shoulder to long flowing sleeves. Something like a scarf was wrapped around her hips, and it twitched and flowed when she moved.

“Ent y’come t’see a vroo, then?” She winked at the crowd; someone whooped, which set off a burst of laughter and applause.

“It means somebody who does magic,” Nellie explained to the other girls in a loud, bright whisper, watching with wide eyes.

The woman sauntered towards the three girls, as if drawn by Nellie’s whisper. She winked at Nellie, who grinned back, bright and wide, and turned her attention to Caina. All three could feel the soft pulse of her glamour, friendly and bright in the air around them. Flo, wide-eyed, hid half behind Nellie, still clinging to Caina’s hand.

“What’s this, eh?” The wick asked, eyes wide. One hand reached for Caina’s ear, and emerged with a coin clasped between two fingers, glinting bright in the sunlight. “Not washed behind yer ears, didja nanabo?”

Image
User avatar
Caina Rose
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri May 31, 2019 6:10 pm
Topics: 7
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: Plot Notes
Writer: Bash
Post Templates: Post Templates
Contact:

Thu Jul 04, 2019 8:59 pm

The Docks • Anaxas/Old Rose Harbor
on the 31st of Bethas, 2708 • during the afternoon
C aina was an only child. She’d always been happy with that- the companionship of her father was all she’d ever wanted. But with Nellie and Flo on each side of her, gripping each of her hands between them, she imagined this was what it would be like to have sisters.

Sometimes, Caina stuck close to her father’s office, too scared of what might happen if she left his sight. But on days like this, when everyone was smiling and the sun was shining, it was easy for the little girl to forget that there was anything wrong in the world.

Caina passed quickly by the palm reader- she was too young to worry about her future, too young to enjoy anything but this moment, right now. She passed the food as well, and stumbled to a stop in front of the acrobats, somehow managing a spot at the front of the crowd. She screamed in joy and fear as one of the young wicks flew through the air, paralyzed as she watched him fall to Earth, only to land safely on his feet.

“I want to do that!”
Caina yelled over the crowd, gesturing excitedly towards the wicks as she answered Nellie’s question.
“I want to do that!”


Any conversation died soon after, especially as the woman with the scarf stepped forward. Caina’s eyes seemed to get wider and wider as she got closer, and if Caina had been thinking, she would’ve ducked behind Flo.

The little girl had never been this close to a wick, and she definitely didn’t expect to feel the glamour, which seemed like the sun creeping back onto Caina’s skin after having hidden behind a cloud. She looked up at the woman in awe, no longer afraid. She didn’t move away as the woman reached forward, and when Caina saw the coin in her hand, she screeched and her hands flew up to her ears, as if seeing what else was there. How could a coin fit in her ear?!

After a moment, Caina looked up at the woman, still standing there, and carefully reached her hand out. The witch chuckled and dropped the coin into Caina’s palm. “There, nanabo. Spend it wisely.”

She walked away, waving at the three of them, and Caina snatched her hand back to hold the coin protectively against her chest, like someone would come along and take it.

She turned to look at Flo, still hiding behind her cousin, and grinned.
“Did you see that?!”


Like fate, the crowd parted and Caina saw the food vendors down the dock. She grabbed Flo’s hand, trusting Nellie to follow them, and started running. Gone was the shy little girl- she’d gotten too swept up in the energy of the docks.
User avatar
Ava Weaver
Posts: 303
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:17 am
Topics: 11
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Writer: moralhazard
Writer Profile: Writer Profile
Post Templates: Plot Notes
Contact:

Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:53 am

Afternoon, 31st Bethas, 2708
The Wharf, Old Rose Harbor
F
lo screeched along with Caina at the sight of the coin in the witch’s hand, her eyes huge in her face.

Nellie was giggling, and she waved back at the witch when she left, grinning broadly.

“Where did it come from?” Flo gasped. “How did a coin get in your ear?” Flo crept out from behind Nellie, peering suspiciously at Caina’s ears.

“Maybe there are more in there!” Nellie suggested, still giggling. “We should check!” She made to reach for Caina just as the younger girl grabbed Flo and took off.

Unlike – perhaps – the other two, Nellie was old enough to understand that it was just a trick, no magic involved; but that didn’t diminish her wonder at the sight of it. She glanced at the witch again, admiring her as she made her way through the crowd, laughing and teasing the rest as easily as she had the little girls, her hands moving and flashing with all sorts of tricks, her hips shifting too. Nellie, at least, was aware of how some of the men in the crowd looked at the witch, or at least that it was different than how they’d looked at the acrobats.

But Caina and Flo were getting away and Nellie turned to run after them, diving through the crowd effortlessly.

It was a diverse group watching the wicks perform; there were men and women of the docks, dressed much rougher than the three little girls from King’s Court and Cantile in tattered homespun. There were merchants too, in a range of clothing, some dressed fine in smooth shirts and pants, maybe distracted from some business by the colorful sights. There were others who had a similar style, like the merchants but somehow seemed to exude something more – maybe it was the flash of gold or gems, or the hint of the occasional tattoo peeking out from beneath their clothing that marked them as pirates, or perhaps it was something in the swagger, the way they stood as if the world was theirs – and, as most were Hawke’s men, perhaps it was.

But there were more besides them; there were fancy ladies, too, wearing all sorts of lovely dresses, maybe on business of their own or just out for an afternoon promenade on the sunny day. Those Nellie particularly liked, and her gaze caught on one a little ways off, wearing the most beautiful dress Nellie had ever seen. It was a sort of amber color, pale and bright all at once, with a high froth of lace that covered her neck all the way up to the chin, delicate loops and swirls of fabric like a waterfall pouring down her front, asymmetric but somehow balanced. The dress was tucked in at the waist, smooth and stylish, and fell straight to the ground in a perfect long line. The woman was talking to a man in a dark green uniform with high black boots – a Seventen, Nellie knew, even if they weren’t so common in Old Rose Harbor.

“Oh, oh look!” Flo gasped. Caught up after Caina, it had taken her a few minutes to realize where they were headed. “Oh, they have dough bits and popped corn, oh…” she peered down at the coin in Caina’s hand, then looked back at the wicks. It would be immediately clear that the coin was only enough for one or the other, not both, no matter how hard the girls tried. “Oh, I want dough bits, please Caina!”

“It came from Caina’s ear,” Nellie caught the two finally, and she gave Flo’s hair a ruffle, grinning at her to soften the chastisement. “So it’s your pick, Caina, and don’t listen to Flo if you don’t want to.”

Flo sulked but only for a moment, grinning up at Nellie and at Caina. "Yeah," she agreed. "That's right, it's only fair." Both of the girls’ stomachs grumbled beneath their plain dresses. Flo cast another longing stare towards the dough bits, her own preference clear. Shared between three the little twist of paper wouldn’t go far, but even a bite of such an indulgence would be a cherished memory for a long time to come.

Image
User avatar
Caina Rose
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri May 31, 2019 6:10 pm
Topics: 7
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: Plot Notes
Writer: Bash
Post Templates: Post Templates
Contact:

Fri Aug 30, 2019 6:26 pm

The Docks • Anaxas/Old Rose Harbor
on the 31st of Bethas, 2708 • during the afternoon
C aina glanced at the cousins, then at the two vendors. Her lips were puckered ever so slightly, and she squinted just a little as she weighed the pros and cons. It was an oddly serious expression. Then she grinned, and wordlessly dragged Flo- and Nellie by association- to the vendor selling the dough bits. It wasn’t until they were standing in front of the man that she spoke, raising the coin up and letting it hit the light: an effective way of getting the salesmen’s attention. He turned a curious eye to the three young girls as Caina proudly declared, “I’d like some dough bits, please!” She pulled the coin back and kept it tucked inside her hand, lest the vendor reach out to try to take it, as she worried he might. The young girl bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet, both hands clasped behind her back in an effort to look patient.

She glanced back at Nellie, like she was seeking confirmation for her behavior, but turned back to the vendor as he coughed and spoke. “Yeah, sure kid. Lemme see that coin.”

She hesitated, then gently placed it into his hand. He examined it for a moment before dropping it into his coin pouch. Then, he picked up one of the small paper containers and went to hand it to Caina, then hesitated. He shifted his gaze to Nellie and gestured her forward with his free hand. “I won’t give you a refund if she drops it.” He warned the older girl as he thrust the container into her arms.

A shout from nearby drew his gaze, and the vendor was off in search of more customers, leaving them alone amongst the large crowd.
User avatar
Ava Weaver
Posts: 303
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:17 am
Topics: 11
Race: Human
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Writer: moralhazard
Writer Profile: Writer Profile
Post Templates: Plot Notes
Contact:

Sat Aug 31, 2019 4:06 pm

Afternoon, 31st Bethas, 2708
The Wharf, Old Rose Harbor
F
lo was already giggling as the vendor beckoned Nellie forward and handed her the dough bits. “Oh, thank you Caina, thank you!” Flo was bouncing up and down on her heels, her face bright and cheerful.

“Yessir!” Nellie took the dough bits, and turned to the other two girls. They were hot in her hands, the little paper twist that surrounded them only just beginning to be stained with grease, and fluffy-looking, with a topping of fresh powdered sugar. They smelled lovely, good enough to make all three girls’ stomachs grumble.

“Here you go!” Nellie held them out, cradled gingerly in both hands, for Flo and Caina, grinning.

“Caina, you go first,” Flo said, shifting from foot to foot. She straightened up, and locked her hands behind her back, lips pressed firmly together. “You have to!”

Only once Caina had taken her first dough bit would Flo reach for one as well, blowing on it and nibbling at it, her face alight with joy.

Nellie giggled, glancing back over her shoulder. “C’mon, let’s – outta the way, a little, better not get stepped on!” She led the other two girls with the dough bits off to the side of the crowd, standing on the edge of the pier, holding the paper twist still for Flo and Caina. “Don’t eat them too fast,” she warned; the coin had bought a good portion, but it wouldn’t last too long shared three ways. Nellie held off.

“Oh, Nell, you didn’t get one…” Flo bit her lip, and straightened up. “I can hold them! Please? I can do it! Then you can have one too.”

“Umm…” Nellie made a little face.

“Please! Please,” Flo begged.

“Well – all right, but you gotta be careful, yeah?” Nellie handed the younger girl the dough bits, gingerly.

“I’ll be so careful,” Flo giggled, cupping the dough bits carefully.

Nellie reached for one of her own, nibbling at it with a bright smile. For a moment, all was quiet and still and fried dough, a little oasis of peace in the midst of the bustling harbor.

“Nell, can you do the witch we just saw?” Flo asked, eyes bright.

Nellie giggled. “Sure,” She bit her lip, licking a little powdered sugar off it. She cocked her hip out slightly, then stopped, and scrambled a few steps back. She gave her head a little toss, her dark hair shifting a little in the breeze, cocked her hip out again, and swayed towards the two smaller girls, copying the witch’s walk with surprising ease.

“What’s this, nanabo?” Nellie winked at Caina and Flo both. “So ye turned that ging t’ som’ yats, oes?” She spun the impression out a little, chatting along in cheerful Tek.

Flo giggled, eyes bright. For a moment – just a moment – she was distracted, staring at Nellie – and someone bumped into her from behind. Her hands loosened, as if of their own volition – and the twist of paper tumbled to the ground, the dough bits scattering everywhere against the dirty pier.

Flo froze, staring down at them. She looked back up at Caina, and then to Nellie. Tears trembled in her eyes, and then streaked steadily down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” Flo wailed, sobbing, her thin shoulders shaking beneath her neat little dress. “I’m sorry, I – I didn’t mean to – ”

Nellie was staring down at the dough bits. She swallowed her disappointment, swallowed it hard, and hugged the younger girl, tucking her in close. “It’s all right, Flo, it’s all right,” she looked up at Caina as well, hoping the other girl would be nice about the mistake as well. Flo was always a bit of a crybaby.

“C’mon,” Nellie took a deep breath. “I’m sure the tumblers – we’ll – we’ll just – ”

“That was a lovely impression you did, my dear,” There was a soft, amused voice from behind them – feminine, soft and sleek. The woman in the amber waterfall of a dress stood behind them, smiling, her sleek red hair like strawberries in the sun. She was as beautiful up close as she’d been from far away; Nellie thought in that moment she was ageless, timeless, like a statue. She stepped a little closer, and – as if the sleek, rounded vowels of her Viendan accent hadn’t been clue enough – all three little girls would feel her field wash over them, sharp and subtle, a strange sort of woobly feeling.

“Thank you, miss,” Nellie tucked Flo behind her without thinking, keeping herself between Flo, Caina and the galdor. She grasped her skirt and made a credible little curtsy, head ducked.

“Madam," The galdor corrected, her smile sharp as a knife. “Can you do any others?” She asked.

“Others, mi - madam?” Nellie looked up at her – looked at the lovely dress. She was wearing jewelry too, Nellie noticed; Nellie had never seen anything like it. It wasn’t like the pirates; the jewelry was better than any Nellie had ever seen, but there wasn’t too much of it. Gold drops with glittering dark stones hung from her ears, and she wore a single ring and a sparkling bracelet, catching the light.

“Other impressions,” The woman smiled. Her lips were painted red, like a gash in her face, and when she smiled wider they slid apart to reveal perfect white teeth.

“I – I guess, madam,” Nellie said, slowly. “I – “ She glanced at Flo and Caina, then back at the galdor, her eyes wide.

"It is a shame about your little treat,” The woman said, slowly, glancing down at the dough bits scattered on the ground, then back up at Nellie. Her eyes lingered on Nellie’s face. Nellie swallowed, hard; she wondered if this was how a mouse felt, when a cat or an osta saw them. “Do an impression for me, little dear, and I’ll give you some coin to replace them. Just like the tumblers.” The woobly feeling in the air got stronger.

Nellie shivered. “Yes madam,” she said, obligingly. She swallowed, hard, letting go of Flo, and straightened up.

Nellie bit her lip, thinking rapidly. Then – she shifted, squaring her shoulders and setting her hips again – not like the witch, this time, and not like Mrs. Wells either. She held herself as if the world was hers, as if she was the master of all she saw, with a soft, subtle little smirk at the edges of her smile – just like the galdor standing in front of them.

“Is this what you meant, madam?” Nellie asked, copying the woman’s Viendan accent. It wasn’t perfect – she didn’t quite sound right – but it was a world away from the Old Rose tones of her usual speech. “It would be a shame if I couldn’t – ” Nellie faltered, and lost her courage. Her shoulders shrank in, and she stepped back, too afraid to look at the galdor any longer.

“Don’t be afraid, little dear,” The woman said, softly. She reached forward, tucking a lock of dark hair off of Nellie’s face. Nellie held very, very still; she wondered if the woman’s red nails were sharp enough to cut. “What’s your name?”

“Nellie Tucker,” Nellie whispered.

“Nellie Tucker,” The galdor made a little face; something like distaste flickered through her eyes. “That was a very good impression. You should be very proud of your talent,” She reached into her purse, and emerged with three glittering coins, tucking them into Nellie’s open, unresisting hand, and folding her little fingers closed over them. “Go and buy some treats, little dear. Have a lovely day.”

By the time Nellie could breathe again, the galdor had wafted off, leaving only an odd, faint floral scent in the air behind her.

Nellie glanced down at the coins in her hand, and closed her little fist tighter around them. She glanced back at Caina and Flo again, breathing a little hard, and trembled, crossing her arms over herself.

“Did she do magic on you?” Flo whispered.

“No,” Nellie sniffled. “No, I – they hafta talk for magic, don’t they?” Nellie glanced down at the coins again. She tucked her fist into her stomach, and shook her head a little. “Let’s – we’ll get some more dough bits, all right? And go – we’ll go – we’ll go back into the crowd and watch the tumblers,” she grinned at Flo and Caina, the strangeness of the little encounter already passing, disappearing like the waves against the horizon against the promise of hot fried dough and distant tumblers.

“Come on,” Nellie took Flo’s hand in hers, and waited for Caina to take the other, the three little girls making their way back into the crowd, happy to be lost within the Rose once more.

Image
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Old Rose Harbor”

  • Information
  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests