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Cold winds rake their icy fingers across the land, bringing colder temperatures, snow, and ice with them. People head inside during this time to bundle up in their homes with extra layers of clothing and blankets. Animals add to the overall warming phase inside the dwellings of most of the population. Only those who are either extremely foolish, or extremely brave dare to venture out in the snowy wastelands of this Northern country. One of these foolhardy people is out and about compared to the more "sensible" folk.
"Blast this freezing weather!" Raknu roared into the wind, the words being whipped away from his numb lips, leaving him barely enough time to hear himself speak them.
I should have stayed inside, he thought. Why, in the name of the Havens, did I ever decide join the King's levy, only to have to walk in this blasted snow?
Raknu trudged and sloshed his way through the mess of snow and ice, the cold seeping through is leather and wolverine fur-lined boots on his feet to assault his toes. The winds were picking up as he tried to find his own dwelling on the other side of the village. Obscuring his vision, he nearly ran headlong into one of the houses that lined the crooked streets. He corrected his path and continued onwards.
Stopping at another house, a few scores away from the one he almost ran into, he knocked loudly on the door calling, "Hello! Is anyone there? I need some assistance!"
He stood there for a split second before the door opened a crack to reveal the pale white face of a young woman who stared cautiously at him.
"May I help you?" The wondrous young woman replied, her rich voice holding just a hit of contempt in it.
"Please, gracious lady, may I stay with you until this beast of a storm abates enough for me to make my way to my own dwelling?" He pleaded.
Raknu found himself staring into the jewels of her eyes, thinking all the while that his toes were going to fall off.
"Only until the storm leaves off, Sir. Then you must make your departure." She said unsteadily, as she stood aside to let Raknu into her home.
As he entered, he looked about the room with interest. Books lined the every inch of the walls, as far as he could see. What looked to be ancient artifacts decorated shelves in an assortment of gold, silver, marble, and stone. A plain set of chairs lined the wall closest to the door, while a long, padded bench sat smack-dab next to the fireplace. He moved forward and heard the door make an audible click behind him as it shut.
"Sir, please take off your shoes and let me have those bags to put somewhere. Are you hungry? Or thirsty?" The young beauty asked, taking on the roll of hostess with ease.
Raknu obliged and took off his shoes. He handed his traveling bags to the young woman, who put them on one of the chairs beside him. Leaving his boots by the door, he wandered into the middle of the room.
"Please, kind, gracious lady, call me Raknu. And, yes, thank you. I would just love having something to fill in the hole that is my stomach and smooth the sides of my roughened throat. May I sit by the fire to warm my frozen toes?" Raknu replied kindly.
I wonder if this delicate beauty is afraid of me? He pondered. I'll just have to show her that I mean her no harm.
"You may call me Vinuka, Sir... I mean Raknu. By all means, go and warm your "frozen" toes. I'll go and fetch you something to eat and drink." Vinuka said, her manner loosening up.
Gratefully, Raknu moved towards the fire and plopped down to sit within a few feet of the dancing flames to stretched out his toes and hands. A few minutes later, Vinuka walked up beside him and gave him a plate that held half of a loaf of wheat bread and, presumably, homemade butter on the side.
"I'll have to place the leftover stew back on the fire. And I think that I will warm up some honey wine for you to drink. It's much better when it's warmed up in the winter." Vinuka prattled on. She stirred up the fire to make it more lively, and placed a pot, that Raknu hadn't noticed before, in the middle of the flames. Raknu took note of the way the she moved about him with obvious grace.
"I am very grateful that you have allowed to invade you home and whatnot, my lady. And I am glade that you don't think me intimidating. I sorely wish that I had something to give you in return for your hospitality. And that soup smells delicious." Raknu told her.
Vinuka placed a pitcher of the honey wine on the outskirts of the fire to warm and pulled up a chair next to him. She picked up a basket full of multicolored yarn, took out a pair of knitting needles, and started to knit.
"You are most welcome. Nothing is needed in return for me just doing what was required of me, kind sir. And I thank you. I make the soup myself every week for a treat to the little ones that come and visit me. The young ones always come to this place for luncheon or to play with the kittens that I have in my bedroom. I think that they are sleeping at the moment. I knit clothing items for the children whose parents do not have that much. They don't mind it because I am what they consider a child myself." Vinuka said in return.
Raknu eyed her figure while she was rambling on. Her slender hips were accompanied by long legs. Full breasts were visible by the outline of the deep purple tunic she was wearing over brown woolen leggings. A graceful neck was topped with a heart shaped face. Long, black lashes surrounded her glorious sapphire eyes. Thick, red lips and a sleek nose adorned her face. White skin that glowed in the fire light, and luscious auburn locks gave her the looks of one of the snow goddesses from legends old.
"And how old are you, Vinuka?" He cautiously asked.
Vinuka snapped her head up and stared hard at him. What seemed like a mix between hatred and wariness flashed in those strikingly blue eyes. She put down her knitting. A few, agonizing, moments passed before she answered him.
She sniffed, "If you must know, I am seventeen summers old. To be an adult, you have to be at twenty summers. And what about you? You do not look old."
Raknu chuckled, "I am the same age as you, my dear. But I live by myself on the edge of this village. I joined to King's levy to be able to do something other than farming for a change. You have to admit, it gets boring working at the something for a while."
She nodded, "That's a good thing indeed. I don't farm, so I wouldn't know about that, but I do understand what you are talking about."
The hatred that I saw earlier in her eyes is gone. Maybe she thought that I was an older man looking to bed her, he wondered. I sure hope that that was not the case. I wonder how many times she's had to fend off other men? If what I think is true, I'll just have to find them and make them pay for whatever it is that they did you her.
They sat in silence for a while before Vinuka spoke up again.
"Maybe the food is warmed by now, along with the wine." She said.
She walked into the kitchen area and brought out two mugs, a bowl, and a spoon. She went over to the stew pot, ladled the stew into the bowl, placed it in Raknu's waiting hands, and poured the warmed honey wine into the clay mugs. She then gave one of the steaming mugs to Raknu and walked around him to sit back down in her chair. Raknu watched her through this whole process, admiring how she moved about.
Raknu put the bowl of stew on the floor beside him and sipped at the honey wine. The liquid warmed his throat, soothing the cold muscles as he swallowed it. He sighed contently. Putting down the mug, he glanced at Vinuka. She was staring into the fire, her eyes glazed as if remembering something. His eyes slide to the bowl of stew, so he picked it up and starting eating it. Crunchy carrots, savory meat, softened potatoes, and gravy greeted his salivating mouth. He munched on until the bowl was empty and used the bread to mop up the leftover gravy.
"That was the best stew that I've ever had!" He exclaimed.
Vinuka blushed and picked the bowl and spoon from his hands. Minutes later she returned and smiled shyly. Her cheeks were still flushed from his praise.
"Thank you." She mumbled.
"What is the wondrous ingredient that you add to the gravy that makes it taste so delectable?" He asked.
"Onions and garlic mainly. Sometimes I add in salt and pepper. Occasionally I'll add a leek or two to the stew itself to add something for the stomach and for flavor." She replied, ticking off the ingredients with her slender, white fingers.
"It sounds good with leeks. I'd add in some dumplings too. Mm, dumplings." He said, smiling foolishly.
Vinuka laughed at this, the sound ringing golden in his ears. He looked up at her and found her looking at him. Something very similar to a spark flew between them. Raknu got up and walked to the door. The sound of soft footsteps told him that Vinuka was following him. He pulled open the door to be greeted with a blast of the freezing cold wind. In swept the snow and ice that had nearly frozen his toes. He hurriedly shut the door.
"Well," he said, "It looks like I'm not going anywhere for a while yet. Might as well get to know each other since I'll be hear as long there's the beast of a snow storm outside."
"I quite agree with you, Raknu. One thing, though. We will have to be quiet as to not wake up my grandfather. All of this stuff," she pointed to the books and antiques,"belongs to him. He's a history fanatic of sorts. He doesn't like it when other men come around and try to be friendly with me, the bad kind of friendly. Not like how you're acting." She replied in a somewhat of a rush.
"Oh, that's just fine with me. I actually like the books and antiques. It adds a sort of historical sense to your home. I hope that these men have not harmed you. It would be very bad indeed if I were to get a hold of them." He replied in a whisper, his eyes gleaming with malice as he said this.
Vinuka stared at him.
She doesn't know what to say to that, he thought. Maybe she didn't expect me to say something like that because I hardly know her.
"How many times has a man come into your home, begging for hospitality, only to want to bed you instead?" He asked, furious at the thought, "How many times?"
Vinuka was slow to reply to this, and when she did reply, her voice was so soft that Raknu had to lean towards her to hear it, "More than ten."
Appalled at this, Raknu got up from his seat by the fire and started to pace the floor in an outraged mannar. His foot steps carrying loudly in the still air. He stopped his pacing after about five minutes and stood in front of Vinuka. He gently grasped her chin in his right hand and lifted her head up so that he could look her in the eyes. Silent tears spilled down from those gleaming sapphires. His heart clenched.
"Do not cry, my dear lady." He said, wiping the tears from her rosy cheeks. "It will be all right. I'll make it all right."
He left her, pulled a chair up beside her, and gathered her in his strong arms. She snuggled into his embrace and sobbed. Rocking her back and forth, he slowly smoothed her hair, whispering nonsense words into her ears. After what seemed like years, she pushed herself away from his chest and look him in the eyes.
"I... I cannot thank you enough." She said. "You have no idea how many times I've wanted to tell my grandfather what the men wanted. I am overjoyed that you have not turned out like those men."
"How many of those unworthy men succeeded in getting what they desired?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of her.
Fresh tears were beginning to form around the edges of her eyes.
"One." She sobbed.
 UnForSakenLies · Sun Nov 04, 2007 @ 06:35am · 2 Comments |
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