The Tenner

Oh, lovely!

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Lady Yekaterina sits down on the low stone wall that rims the reflecting pool, her long velvet skirts spread around her in flaunting unconcern that anything in her domain might dare to muss her. Her long white fingers toy with a dainty yellow leaf, fallen with the coming autumn.

The Fool Who Met Death

Once upon a time, there was a Fool who walked the earth. He had hairy breeks on his lower parts, and a green velvet doublet on top, and for a hat he wore a silver-pewter jelly-mold, all fluted around its sides.

And one night as he was walking on the moors, in a howling storm, with his silver jelly-mold jammed tight over his ears to protect him from the flashing lightning, he came upon a figure of darkness, swathed in dark cloth, with a dark bag clutched in their bony hand.

“Hello!” quoth he, for he was too foolish to recognise a power and a mystery, and walked straight up to the being (who was Death). “Might you perchance have a drink about you, sir or ma’am?”

Death looked at him oddly, for few but the old were minded to talk with them for long. “It’s raining,” they said, in a voice like the whisper of the night.

“And do I have a cup to catch the rain? I do not,” said the Fool.

Death allowed that cups were agreeable, and from the depths of their robe produced a silver goblet. It had poisoned a king, and a queen, and a pretender to the throne before it was discarded, and into it was poured wine of belladonna and opium and siren’s tears. (But when you drink with Death, it does not end until Death is ready, so that’s alright.)

Halfway through his drink, the Fool realised that Death was still looking at him oddly - their eyes flicking up to the crown of his head, chiming gently with the falling raindrops on the silver, then back to his face. “Aha!” he declared, “you have noticed the beauty of my bonnet. For is there anything so delicate, so sumptuous, so lusciously trembling as a new-made jelly on its platter, waiting for the spoon? And does not the jelly-mold give it its shape? Therefore, by wearing one myself, I become delicate, and sumptuous, and lusciously trembling… and beautiful…"

Death laughed. But then they told the Fool he must savour his drink. “For,” they said, in their voice of whispers in the night, “when it is done, then I must pop you in my bag and carry you right off. Sorry I am, for you amuse me. But there it is.”

The Fool sipped his drink, and then asked Death if seasoned wood was better than a green branch. And Death allowed that oak and cedar, long dried and dense and tough, made for more elegant coffins than boxes woven from willow branches. Then the Fool asked death what was better eating, a fat hare or a scrawny leveret. Upon which Death had opinions for, while the one is very crunchable, there’s so much juice in the other.

The drink was nearly gone, though the rain fell in constantly and diluted it somewhat. His eyes innocent and guileless, the Fool asked which weighed more, a foolish man or one who was wise. “For,” said he, “I could jump in your bag right now, but I’m right foolish - head full of air, me.” He took another sip. “Or, oooooooor I could take the long way around, Death, my friend, I could learn such things and see such sights, I would tell you stories all the night through from inside your bag.”

And Death thought about it, and agreed that a wise head weighed more than a foolish one, or at least, it rested heavier on the pillow. So they agreed to part ways and find each other again.

How easy it is, for a Fool to meet Death.

Lady Yekaterina lets the yellow leaf fall with a laugh. “And as to their last meeting, I shall speak of it when it happens!”

The leaf drifts on, silent on the still water.

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Count Nicolo Alberti is in the library, browsing a volume by a Persian astronomer. “Its all well over my head, I’m afraid,” he says. “But it does remind me of a story”. He closes the Al-jabr with a thud, and begins:

The mathematician and the demon

Once upon a time there was a mathematician. The mathematician was very skilled, and excelled at proving theorem after theorem, pushing back the frontiers of mathematical knowledge, and they became famous and well-known. But despite their success, and all the prizes and accolades they earned, the mathematician wanted more: they wanted to fully understand mathematics, to know everything. This was more than one could do in a lifetime, so they turned to the dark arts to try and find a shortcut.

The mathematician consulted necromancers and pored over ancient grimoires. They spoke to the things which lurked in dark crypts, and took forbidden drugs to try and escape time. After much study and many false starts, they decided that they could gain what they needed by summoning a particular demon, a bestower of secret knowledge (I shall not name it here, for naming a demon draws its attention, and no-one here wants that). They calculated the optimum alignment of the heavens, purchased various ingredients, and carefully drew a pentagram upon the floor of their basement. Then they called the demon’s name and commanded it to appear.

A robed and cowled figure appeared within the pentagram. Its limbs were bent unnaturally, as if they were insectile rather than human. Its hood was full of utter blackness, and yet when it turned towards him, the mathematician could feel its gaze upon him. “Who dares summon me?” said the demon, in a voice like the scratching of flies’ legs.

The mathematician explained who he was and what he wanted, feeling ever more uncomfortable beneath the demon’s faceless gaze. He knew he was safe, for he had checked the pentagram, and the demon could not leave it unless it was released. But its presence was unnerving, and the mathematician began to doubt his chosen course of action.

“I can grant you the knowledge you seek,” clicked the demon, “but the price will be your immortal soul, which I will claim after a year and a day”.

“That doesn’t sound like a very good deal,” said the mathematician. “It is not even enough time to scratch the surface of mathematics. I was hoping for more time to really get to grips with things”.

“It is the only deal on offer,” whispered the demon. “Swear to it, break the circle, and the knowledge will be yours”.

“I’ve changed my mind,” said the mathematician. He left the basement, locked the door behind him, and went back upstairs to his books and theorems. As for the demon, it is probably still there, waiting for someone to release it.

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Tzar Boyanov clapped his hands once, loundly as to draw attention. "Fine tales all, but this is more of a folk legend, of the most subborn soldier in Russia. Many tankards are raised to her name and her trek and love are inspiration.

Coming Home From War.

Long ago, long enough for grandfathers grandfathers to have told this tale, the Rus had been at war with the Europeans. This wasn’t anything more noteworthy than one of the many pointless wastes of lives among kingdoms, but for a singular person, one Opokina Evelina Vasilievna, she was now very far from home. For she had been brought to europe from deepest siberia, taken in wagon and marged by foot across half the known world to get to the warzone, where the Boyar had gone ahead to talk to the Generals and having been found out of favour, had been handed over to the Prussians, leaving his men and women leaderless.

And so they went home. However, it was such a distance, and with no pay and no support, many of them opted to join other groups of soliders, or work in local towns, and then there was one left. A soldier frequenting the local taverns, she had to return, for her beloved pined for her.

However, Evelina wasn’t much more than a farmer woman, conscripted and marched across the land. While her village was on a well known river, she had no idea of the paths required to reach across the lands, and so she asked all whom she met about the best ways to reach her village and none could give her the advice she sought.

Until the Englishman.

He was a trades captain with a hold full of exotic goods, and mentioned that he knew of the river her village was on, and that it passed close to another river than ran to a mouth in the pacific. Of course, to reach the mouth of the river, a journey around the great continents would be required.

But a ship and a destination and a plan were now spinning in Evelina’s head, for though it might have been the long way, it was one she could stay on, and it would lead to her beloved. Her drinking companions saw her pack what small items she had, and head for the towns ports, aiming for a boat to the Black Sea.

There are tales of Evelina in Constantinople and Mila, in Cape Town and Singapore, in Nippon and finally far Siberea, and with time and travel, Evelina is a stronger, smarter, and more steeled person. These tales could be told on their own, but they all have the theme that Evelina wouldn’t be swayed from her journey, and despite the length, she was determined to cut what time she could.

It was a suntanned sailor, wearing bright clothes of far lands, strong with seafearing muscles that strode off the small river boat that came down the stream. It had been years since she left, and yet, she walked to the house of her beloved, and opened it finally coming home from war.

Tzar Boyanov sighed, and looked north in the sunny day. “You can always go home. Even if you must take the long way around.”

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Those were all just lovely. (A blessing on sailors, plucky caterpillars, canny mathematicians, and people who love.)

Today is @RobotPie’s prompt, but it is also the Joker day. So… if she drops us a prompt, well and good (I know Real Life happens), but today you can improvise on whatever you like.

Prompt roll-over is Sunday morning, with the witty Lady Seraphina Trideska (@lesbiancobra).

Cheers, all.

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Tag people. You get a badge for it and everything :slight_smile:

@RobotPie @lesbiancobra

A badge! I’m honoured. (Done. Thanks for the tip.)

In the evening in the quiet hours after supper, Edward Farthing sat at a card table dealing out hands of Patience. When he realised he was watched, he flicked out a card and then another: the Ace of Spades, the King of Hearts, and the lowly Two of Clubs. He gave a sudden smile of great sweetness.

“Lady Yekaterina,” he said. “You spoke yesterday of a fool who met Death. I have a story to tell not of a fool, but a humble man who met Death and also our Lord Jesus, and through his poverty saved many souls.”

The Three Wishes
Once on the road between Ostia and Rome - a busy road for in those days all souls sought to travel to the seven hills - there lived a peasant named Ulivo. He was humble in his ways and humble in his faith: he welcomed all who passed him by in the name of Lord Jesus and shared what crumbs he had, but he did not decline such gifts of wine or fine cheese that might come his way either.

One day, late in the day when all good souls are considering their supper, he heard a sharp knock on the door. He sighed a little, for as much as he loved guests, his larder carried little, but he opened the door all the same. He gulped at the large numbers of the group but, remembering that the twelve apostles and Jesus together numbered thirteen, he invited the strangers into his home. He bustled about finding benches and chairs for his numerous guests while he thought in his head how he might make the provisions of his house stretch. A stew, he thought, with many vegetables and little meat, and some fat white dumplings, that might pass but lo! when he opened his cupboard it was full with fat white loaves of bread, a large wheel of yellow cheese, a tub of butter, a large smoked salmon, pink in the dim light.

“Friends!” he cried, “let us dine together!”

Curiously, he explored his cellar, expecting to find the flask he had seen last of sour wine that even he thought was almost vinegar, but lo! there were dusty wine bottles of an excellent vintage and these, too, he brought up to his guests. He asked of a mercy if the leader of that large band would say the grace in the Lord’s name before they dined, and the guest, a man of quiet demeanor who had chosen not to doff his hood, nodded from beneath the heavy cloth, smiled kindly and spoke of the bread and blood of Christ.

It was a fine meal they ate that night, for it was soon to be Lent, when those who follow Christ fast in his name, and the wise fattened themselves up first. And it was a jolly meal, with laughter and song, and the occasional bawdy tale. The leader of the guests laughed the hardest at these.

But then in the morning when the guests took their leave, one of the followers, a bearded man who had given his name as Peter told old Ulivo that he was a fool! Christ himself had visited him, and he might have asked for any wish on heaven or earth to be granted. Ulivo blushed when he realised who his exalted guest had been, and also when he thought back to a particularly well received tale about a bishop, two actresses and a donkey, but he ran to the leader and kissed the hem of his robe and asked for a boon. The man nodded and Ulivo said: “if it please you, I wish that anyone who sits in my chair must stay there until I bid them rise.” Jesus said “as you wish” and gathered his apostles together.

“Fool!” Peter said. “You could have asked for much more than that! Riches! Fame! Your immortal soul to be saved!”

“Oh,” said Ulivo, blushing again as he recalled another tale from the night before about a soldier, a flowerpot, and three village maidens. He ran after his Lord again and begged another favour, but this time he asked that anyone who climbed his cherry tree would remain there until he bid them down. The Lord nodded, and congratulated Ulivo on the fine tree in his garden, and said “as you wish.”

Peter made a disgusted noise and said “is that all? Old man, you might have asked to join with us apostles and follow our Lord for the rest of your days!”

Ulivo looked down at the dirt beneath his grubby feet. “Oh,” he said, “I am too humble a soul for such things.” But he asked one more favour of the Lord, who smiled and rested his hand on poor Ulivo’s head and granted that final wish, that Ulivo would never lose a game of cards. “Until we meet again,” Jesus said, and this time departed down the long road.

Well and well. What a story to tell. Ulivo shared it often with the guests who rested in his house, and was laughed at for it - but kindly, because Ulivo was a modest and generous soul. The years passed until one day the knock on the door that Ulivo opened gladly was Death himself. Ulivo sighed. “Oh well, I’ve had a good run,” he said. “Have I ever told you the story of how I met Jesus?” Death shook his head. “Oh! Then you must hear it. Sit you down in my best chair while I tell it to you.”

Ulivo had gotten only as far as his first wish when Death suddenly started and tried to rise from the chair. “Oh dear, oh dear,” said Ulivo, “but I’ve only really just started getting used to being alive. I don’t think I’m quite ready to go with you yet. Why I even turned down the chance to follow in the train of Jesus!”

Death fumed and swore and snarled, but yet he could not rise, and his job was too important to be left undone. At last, he promised Ulivo 300 more years of life in exchange for the right to walk away. Ulivo, modest to the end, thanked Death profoundly and gave the spectre a gift of his finest cherries to eat on his way home.

300 years passed quickly, for Ulivo was a cheerful soul, and there were many passers by to regale him with stories of their travels. At last, the knock on the door was from Death, his pale horse standing at the gate. “I SHAN’T COME IN,” Death said, “I KNOW YOUR TRICKS.

Ulivo hung his head in embarrassment. “Yes, I know, it was an unfriendly way to treat a guest, and you have kept your end of the bargain. But I won’t keep you long. Perhaps you could stroll in my garden while I collect my things and set the house in order?”

So Death walked in the fine garden in the moist dew of evening and he gazed at the finest cherry tree he had ever seen. He remembered those cherries. He plucked those he could reach from the lower branches and they were as delicious as he recalled.

Edward paused a moment. “May I say how truly excellent was the Cherry Jubilee your chef served tonight, Lady Yekaterina?” He tapped the Ace of Spades speculatively.

But oh! those cherries. Soon Death had eaten all he might reach easily, and so he put one bony foot on a root, and another on a low branch, and so he ascended into those tempting luscious branches and the bounty that surrounded him. Ulivo left his house, carefully locking the door behind him, and looked up at Death in a friendly way. “But I never finished my story! I should tell you of the second wish I begged of Jesus!”

At that, Death cursed and swore, because he knew he had been tricked again. He agreed once more to grant little Ulivo another three hundred years, and as before, he took away a good big punnet of those excellent excellent cherries.

At the end of those three centuries, even little Ulivo was tired of life. When he saw Death at his door, he nodded simply, packed a few small possessions in his satchel, and let Death lead him to the long winding road that leads to Heaven. Death assured him that - despite the peasant’s taste for bawdy stories and practical jokes - he had lived a life more virtuous than most and was assured of a place in Heaven, all he had to do was place one foot in front of the other until he reached those beautiful gates.

Edward flipped over the Joker and tapped the dancing man with his thumbnail.

Well. Ulivo meant well, of course he meant well, but along the way there were other gates blocked off by blackberry thickets and guarded by a little red man with horns atop his forehead and the most peculiar feet. It was a long and narrow way to Heaven and he thought a little amusement along the way wouldn’t be too bad a thing. He had met Jesus after all, and knew the Son of God to be a man (or was it woman?) with a fine sense of humour.

So he asked the Devil who danced at the Gates of Hell if he might enjoy a friendly game of cards. They needed stakes of course - poker is always more interesting if you risk more than you can stand to lose - so they agreed that the ante would be Ulivo’s soul for the souls of twelve sinners and they sat down to play. Of course the Devil cheated - he always does - but somehow, this time his tricks and sleight of hand did him no good. He lost! This could not be borne, so they played another hand for redoubled stakes and another and another! Always, Ulivo, humble man that he was, apologised for his beginner’s luck and insisted that he was sure the Devil’s luck was soon about to turn. Eventually the Devil realised that Hell now contained only a few miserable souls whom he could not bear the thought of no longer tormenting and he rose and threw over the table, he stormed off in a huff and slammed the Gates of Hell behind him! Ulivo shrugged and told the waiting souls: “Well, I think you had all better come along with me.”

They climbed the long weary road together, holding hands, helping each other over the rocky places and the thorns and the narrow gates. Finally they reached the shimmering entrance to Heaven where Peter stood flanked by two angels. “You again!” St Peter said for, having in a moment that mattered much denied his lord, he always felt the need to prove his piety. “You may enter, little Ulivo, but these others have sinned. They have not yet burned off the taint in their souls.”

Ulivo hemmed and hawed and apologised, and asked if they might play a friendly game of cards to settle the difference, but St Peter would have none of it. But then, then a voice came belling out behind those gates and laughed heartily. “My good friend Ulivo!” said the voice of Our Lord. “When I came to your door with so many uninvited guests, you neither turned us away nor stinted us food and drink. I can do no less in my hospitality than a poor man - let all of you enter.”

And thus through those three foolish wishes, a multitude of sinners were saved. And may the Devil stamp his foot in regret until the end of days!

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Sorry everyone - I’m really struggling to be creative at the moment. I’ll bow out.

No worries. It happens. Maybe another time. You look after yourself, okay?

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Count Nicolo Alberti browses the shelves. He pulls down a thick book, leafs through it idly, puts it away then pulls down another and repeats the process. Then he stops, and listens to some birds angrily tweeting outside, upset by some change in the night. Finally, he speaks. “Mr Farthing gave us a classical tale the other day, so I thought I would follow suit. Allow me to present”

The shaking off of burdens

Everyone has heard of Solon, of course, and everyone remembers what he did: gave Athens its laws, which, in the minds of the Athenians at lest, led to its greatness (and then, in the minds of some others, to its downfall). But that is not the only thing Solon did. The first of Solon’s reforms, and arguably the greatest, was to remove debt.

Solon was called to reform the laws of Athens owing to the extreme division in the city. Different factions contended for power, and over what form the government itself should take. The rich of the city warred with the poor farmers of the hills, who in turn argued with the fishermen and traders of the shore. The only thing they could agree on was that they needed a tyrant to settle the disorder. And so they called upon Solon, who was known to be wise, honest, and above all, neutral towards all parties.

Solon looked at Athens, and he saw that the root of its problems was the divide between rich and poor. The latter had been driven into debt, and were so impoverished that they either gave a sixth of their income to the wealthy as interest, or had their persons seized and sold into slavery for failure to pay. Some were even forced to sell their children as slaves to avoid being seized themselves.

Solon’s solution to this was to cancel all debts, and set the people free. Mortgage-stones were removed from the fields. Those who had been sold into slavery in foreign lands were bought home and set free. The move was not without controversy, not least because some of Solon’s friends were not as scrupulous as him, and used their knowledge of his plans to borrow large amounts of money which they then refused to repay. But as time passed, most came to see the wisdom of it. Setting people free from fear of slavery brought peace to the city and allowed it to thrive. And that was the true cause of Athens’ greatness.

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At a small gathering of musicians that night, Lady Yekaterina picks up an antique, narrow-waisted guitar, enlaid with lilies of mother-of-pearl around the sound hole. Her long-nailed fingers move carefully over the fretboard, even as they pluck rippling notes from the gut strings.

“A simple pastoral,” she declares. “A song of two women in the barnyard, and their innocent chatter…”

He Is Sweet And Good

Two countrywomen sat at leisure
Speaking of their husbands.
One said, ‘Mine is sweet and good,
For all day long he gives my chickens food
While I take my pleasure.’

Cluck cluck cluck
The pullet and the little cock
He is sweet and good
Cluck cluck cluck

Lady Yekaterina finishes the cheerful little song with a rippling arpeggio and smiles at her guests, wide-eyed and kittenish.

[Sorry, a bit short. Not having a good day. See you in the morning!]

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Your entries were delightful, my lovelies.

@lesbiancobra Has The Prompt. :smile:

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Today’s prompt is:
Before the storm

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The next morning, over breakfast, Count Nicolo Alberti says “I think it is my turn for a short one today. A story only needs to be long enough to make its point, after all. So I give you”

A change in the weather

Before the storm, everyone lived normal lives.

Before the storm, lots of things didn’t work properly, and everyone pretended that they did.

Before the storm, everyone thought the way things were were the way they had to be. That things could not be changed - not should not, because many people were unhappy - but could not, because it was just impossible.

Before the storm, people accepted this.

Then the storm came, and everything changed.

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On a similar note… :stuck_out_tongue:

This is about all I have the energy for. Sometime before this ends, I will have the time and energy to compose something more grandiose, but in the meantime, please consider this morsel…

Before the storm, we were as one.

Before the storm, nothing swayed us.

We savoured the highest of highs. We embraced the lowest lows.

But always as one, before the storm.

And then, time moved on.

And then, we changed.

The storm came upon us.

And darkness descended.

Howling winds of dissent.

Rolling thunder of anger.

Bolts of lightning exposing our differences in painful contrast.

And so the storm passed through.

And so we drifted apart.

Now, the storm has passed.

Now, I sit alone on lifes vast ocean.

Somewhat shaken, somewhat battered, but still with hope.

Waiting for another voyager to pass.

And maybe then, we will voyage together.

Before the storm.

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@IdiotSavant and @BlackDragonRaider, I love how you guys picked the same idea and wrote mirror stories to each other. :slight_smile:

Tzar Boyanov clapped his hands once, loundly as to draw attention. “No preamble. This is a sad tale.”

The Lost Village.

Have you ever lost something big? Like a table, a pig, or a sibling? Maybe you know where they went, or where you last saw them, or maybe you know they’re gone forever. Then you know something of the feeling our character had.

They were two taxpeople Ivan and Boris, husbands, able to tolerate each other on long trips, and pleasant enough their escort did not mind them. They were headed into the mountain towns, for Spring was here, and the rivers were heavy with snowmelt, and the roads finally able to be somewhat traveled, even if there was still feet of snow in parts. The king wanted to know the state of the villages and which needed carts of grain to keep them fed until harvest in laste summer.

The lowland towns were ok, and so into the hills and villages that sat nestled at altitude did Ivan and Boris go. They had half a dozen soldiers, and so this party made good time. The lower of the villages told that there had been several horrible winter storms, and that their fields weren’t planted because of all the snow. They were thankful of the attention of the king, but suggested that Boris and Ivan climb to the highest village, because the yak herders there would need help, and the valley wouldn’t recieve direct sun for some weeks yet.

Ivan and Boris grimmaced, for they had trekked to that village a decade or more ago, and it was a terrible climb, even when they were younger and fitter. They had enough senority that other collectors had had to take that duty in recent years. However, they were good servants and took the road to the highest village.

The climb was easier than expected, more gentle, and while the snow was soft, the valley was not as deep nor as steeply sided as they remembered. They climbed, and climbed and climbed. Eventually, they passed out of the treeline, and onto the rocks of the upper slopes.

“Ivan, love, let us stop, for we are clearly in the wrong place!”

“Boris, I am certain this is where we were those years ago.”

“No, for the only thing higher than the treeline then was the church, and so if we are above the trees we have gone too far. Besides, I think this the wrong valley, it is soft sided and the snow gentle.”

“I fear you are right, for the trees should be much tallen with a decade of growth, but we have run out of sun for today. Let us camp upon the ridge, where solid rock will be a foot for our tents.”

The taxpeople and the soliders made camp, and it was a fortune that they did camp on the ridge, for in the morning as breakfast sausage was being fried, the snow in the valley below shifted, and a large slew slid into the trees, dashing against the trunks.

Looking down from the ridge, Boris and Ivan saw what they had missed. The winter storms were so strong and snowed so deeply that the entire village had been covered, right up over the steeple of the church, which now stood out of the snow, its tip only up to a man’s waist.

Boris and Ivan looked at the gentle valley sides, the soft floor, and the trees whose true height was in the snow.

The King could not help the Lost Village.

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The Princess and the Soldier

“Before the storm,” the princess said sadly, “I was going to travel to the Star of the Mountains, the Lotus City, the Enclosure of Seven Walls, and marry the Emperor in his tall house.” She sneezed into her long, full sleeve. Her knee-length hair was dripping.

The soldier was short and stocky, and her quilted armour dripped steadily; her top-knotted hair was sodden under its cloth kerchief. Black eyes watched the princess, inscrutable, intent. “Before the storm,” said she, “I was travelling to the border, to fight the barbarians in the mountains, and storm their high flower city.”

“Humph!” said the princess.

The soldier shrugged. It was dark in the cave, and the rain outside poured thunderous loud and the thunders fell multitudinous as rain. But there was a hearth there, also, for wayward travellers, and the soldier knelt by it, sparking little lightnings of flame with her quick, callused fingers.

She heard a tearing sound, and kept her head turned discreetly away as the princess ripped several layers of dry petticoat out from under her skirts. When the fire was well begun and burning small but brave against the night, the soldier turned and found a length of bright lustrous silk handed to her, folded like an exquisite flower, to use as a towel.

“I am a princess,” said the princess, “and it is not proper to sit with a lowly soldier, especially not a barbarian invader like you. But…”

The soldier dried her face and shifted, still kneeling, to make space.

They sat by the fire and listened to the rain.

Presently one said, “I have dates to eat, wrapped up well and dry.”

And the other said, “I have a comb, if you take down your ridiculous coiffure.”

The rain fell down, drowning the world.

“This storm might last forever,” one said.

“I hope so,” said the other.

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The King could not help the Lost Village.

That’s a really sad story!

When the guests of the house next saw Mr Farthing, he was atop the roof of that strange manor. He gazed at the dark clouds rushing across the black forest, his eyes eager, his face intent. The more observant noticed that his hands gripped the stone parapet with rigid clawed fingers. He started when he realised he had company.

“Well,” he said. “Well, well, it is my turn for a story I think. Let me tell you of those of humble life.”

The Hiring Fair
Once, in the days when the fate of a peasant was most times to work the land of someone or other, but never his own, there was a young man who sought work at a Hiring Fair. He was a stout lad, nicely raised, but he had nine brothers and so his parents could not afford to feed him past the age of maturity. He waited patiently in a line with other young folk looking for honest work, holding a grain flail to show his trade, and sneaking glances at the young woman next to him, who shyly held a broom.

A farmer walked up and watched the lad silently for a few minutes. He asked questions about the boy’s home, and his strength, and did he say his prayers every night? The boy stuttered a few words and was glad to fall silent as the girl next to him was questioned in her turn. The farmer handed both of them the bright ribbons of hire, and the young man’s heart leapt - both because he was glad of the work, and because the young woman had been hired as well. On the cart ride to their new home, he was desperately shy, and held his hat in his hands, his heart in his boots, his head hung low, trying to think of words to say to this woman, for she was very beautiful. Or at least, her smile was very beautiful and as we all know, a kind heart eclipses coronets. The young man could only tug his forelock as he had been taught by his father and hope.

It was a well run farm. The young labourers and the young maids were kept well apart, for the farmer had a concern that his maids’ waists might be thickened without a promise of support. He was a fair master: he expected a good day’s labour, but he fed his workers well, and spoke kindly when they did well, more kindly when an honest mistake had been made. Do not bind the mouths of the kine, as one might say.

Months of autumn and then of winter went by, for the fair had been at Michaelmas, and the farmer had needed strong backs to plant the seed for the next year. Through the cold snows, the young man smiled shyly at the maid who had stood by him at the fair, but the words stuck in his throat and even the humble words “as you wish” did not escape.

Spring came and with it the lambing, small lives born in an unthrifty season. Bright golden summer when the sun’s heat lay heavy over the fields, and the workers staggered in from their fields to leap laughing into the swimming hole of the nearby river. “To wash off the dirt” as the farmer said, with a wry look.

The grain the young man had planted grew ripe and heavy and golden, no heavier than his silent love and then, then came the harvest.

It is a gentle balance for those who work the land. One waits until the corn is ripe, but not a day more than needed, for the autumn storms destroy much in their wake. In that week of the harvest, all hands were in the fields, men and women together, even the house cats were rousted out to the fields where they patrolled back and forth hungrily in search of fleeing rats. The young maid who had toiled there a year worked next to the young man who loved her, and she smiled at him. They worked well together - the one scything wheat with great strokes, the other gathering it into careful stooks. As the workers reached the middle of the afternoon, they looked up at the sky and shuddered for great dark clouds were rolling in. Had the farmer waited too late? He was an honest master, and so hired honest workers, and their efforts redoubled, stroke on stroke, grindstones whetting tools, sheaves of grain gathered. At last, as the sun went down, the last stook was lifted into the cart and the harvest doll was raised in after, and a great cheer went up from the workers as the first drops of rain fell on their heads.

“To dinner!” the master shouted, and they cheered again.

The young man looked at the young woman and smiled, very sweetly, but words failed him. But yet, kindness is worth more than coronets, and an honest eye can see an honest man. As the other labourers limped to the farmhouse looking for their deserved feast, the girl took the man’s hand and shook her head. She led him into a nearby barn that was fragrant with hay and the warm breath of goats, and held his hand to her breast.

This was all before the storm.

&&&

“During the storm,” Edward’s eyes gleamed. “Listener, they knew each other.”

The first drops of rain spattered down on his head and he shuddered. “Come, let us go in from the rain.”

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