A fresh start and a new day. This time, the Baker, named Scott, was certain, he was going to have some luck. The farmer he dealt with might supply him with more than enough bags of grain, or he'd have enough money to buy some meat for tomorrow-or his wife might be able to confirm she was pregnant.
Any of these were good, but Scott was truly trying his hardest not to lose his temper with his wife. He wanted a child-they'd done all the right things! He'd been everywhere, trying to search for an answer…but none had come.
He sighed, staring at the baby boots lined up by the door. All that remained, remnants from his childhood. He supposed that they had to be his, but why hadn't they burned-like everything else-in his parents' baking accident?
"It's well past dawn." His wife, Penelope, reminded him. "We need to open up."
Sighing as he removed his gaze, he let it in turn linger on his beautiful fair haired wife, and then, like a well-oiled machine-they threw the shutters open, and began their daily work. "I wish…"
The day didn't end when they closed up in the evening. In fact, it had only just begun when the door broke down.
/Line Break/
Not far away, in a far less humble house than that of the Baker's, a young man sweated with the effort of ensuring the fire burned hot enough. With all the overbearing trees on the property, it was always cold, and her ladyship hated the cold. Virgil, his official title being the servant, worked hard to maintain the growing fire, before he was satisfied with his efforts. Storing the coal, he quietly slipped downstairs, and waited for his next instructions from the basement; right now, he needed to polish the silverware-oh, and get his step-sisters ready for the ball tonight.
Her ladyship, Moffie, had two daughters, named ludicrously and with vain airs. There was a ball occurring for three nights, a festival of sorts, so that King Kyrano could find his son and daughter suitors. It was well known throughout the land that Hiram, the younger of the two, was gay, however Moffie refused to believe that, and was certain that one of her daughters-or herself-would turn his eye.
Virgil begged to digress, but he'd be thrown out, or starved, or something.
The problem was that he wanted to meet the Prince; he was desperate. So desperate that he had asked her ladyship if he could go to the ball…to snide remarks and bruises littering his face. "I wish…"
He was desperate…and as the ladies set off in their carriage that night, he decided he'd do what he should have done years ago: hike over the wall and visit his mother's grave under the willow tree.
/Line Break/
"Sell the cow, Jack!"
The words echoed in Gordon's mind. At least, he knew he was called Gordon, but the dame that had taken him in often mistook him for her own dead child and called him Jack. The cow, Milky-White, was the payment.
Someone had deposited the baby Gordon on the doorstep of the farmer and his wife fourteen years ago, and the cow had paid well for his keeping and upbringing. Then the farmer and their own son had died, leaving Gordon with the dame who had never really cared for him and the cow that he loved with all his heart-and now he had to sell the only thing that kept his memory of his parents cool and clear.
Well, he supposed they were his parents. Brown hair, deep dark blue eyes like the bottom of a well. His mother, he supposed, hadn't been in the picture, because there'd been a boy with red hair, and a boy with black hair. Black hair-Gordon called him Will, but he knew that wasn't right-had ridden there on the cow with him, led overall by the one with brown hair, who'd walked the entire way crying. Gordon supposed it was because he'd had to be given away. 'Go on! What do you ask for?'
"No more than five pounds-"
"Less than five! Go on! Get!"
Gordon surmised that it had been fourteen years and his family wasn't going to come back. Therefore, he'd leave the dame to rot in pieces and see if he could find his family instead. "I wish…" that the journey wouldn't be long, that his family would accept him with love and affection…
/Line Break/
Everyone said that he was a doll in his little knitted cloak and hood. He begged to disagree, but there was no one who would cut his hair and the only cast offs he could find were dresses, so a little doll he had to be. He'd lived in the village as long as he could remember, and been in the care of an elderly couple. He couldn't remember his parents; his childhood had been the cloak.
Fishing in his pocket for a coin, he grasped it tightly, and then eyed up the Baker's. Yes; his grandmother lived in the woods, and she was a rubbish cook. He'd need to eat up before he went, starve it out and return to the usual soup and vegetables when he got back.
Unfortunately, Alan could never trust himself around food. "I wish…"
Right, into the woods to grandmother's house.
/Line Break/
Science fascinated Prince Hiram, but his father's ward and his best friend Tanusha, not so much. Where he preferred his books, she preferred her swords. And arrows. And spears. Whatever she could get her hands on. She also had a very interesting way of sneaking up on him, and she knew it made him lose focus.
"What are you reading today, little brother?"
Hiram dropped his book and then, instead of picking it up, frowned and folded his arms. Lady Tanusha copied him with a grin. "You-You know how much I hate you d-doing that."
"It's fun. So?" She leaned down, picking the book off the marble floor and dusting it off meticulously, "what are you reading about?"
"The theory that the sun is the most stationary point in the universe, and we on our planet go around the sun, while the moon goes around us. I wish I could meet the author to discuss this further."
"What's his name? We should just have dad put out a summons for him-J? What? How does anyone publishing a book not use their name?"
Hiram took the book back, cradling it close to his chest. "I wish I knew, but there are millions of names beginning with J. Jeff, Joseph…Jonathan…"
"Joan, Jennifer. What? It could be a girl, that's why it's so mysterious." Tanusha smiled, and patted the book. 'Do you know anything about her?"
"What makes you so sure it's her? It could be him. But I do know that they are in a place where they can see the stars, high up somewhere. A tower, perhaps. They live alone, and they're trapped."
"Trapped?" Tanusha looked interested now. "What do you mean, trapped?"
"There's a passage they wrote: "the vast infinity of the universe can only be seen from a golden cage; outside, free, there is no need to study the stars. Inside, alone, there is nothing else to do"." He sighed. "I feel like that sometimes. Do I really need to attend the ball tonight?"
"You do, little brother. And tomorrow, and the day after. You never know, J might be there. Or a handsome young man to sweep you off your feet!" She danced him around happily. "But I've always wanted to save someone from being trapped. I'll go find this J, whoever they are, and I'll rescue them."
"It could take forever!"
"I have Shadow, and a thirst for adventure. I'll be back before you know it."
So the Lady, clad in her armour, went off into the woods. She'd seen a tower, pointing up amidst ruins, on one of her earlier travels, but hadn't checked it out. That was where she would go first.
