Hey People! This is a story my friend and I are writing as a collaborative piece of work. Updates will probably be periodic at best so sorry about that. ~*~*~*~
My friend and I would both be very happy if you review so Please?!
Dear Rob,
How's life? I had a bit of an adventure today. One of the sheep ran off so I went to catch it. Beanie was guarding the other sheep so they were fine. The sheep ran down a hill and into the forest. I don't know why but it just kept on running and running. I was catching up and bent down, ready to grab its foot, when the stupid creature slammed its breaks on and stopped dead in its tracks. I ran straight into it and we both went sprawling. When I stood up again I found myself deep in the woods with no idea where I was. I grabbed the sheep and walked back the way we had come, not daring to deviate even slightly from our previous path lest I got lost. We went to collect the sheep but found Beanie had already rounded them up and taken them home. Lewis was quite annoyed but couldn't make me do extra chores for it because I pointed out that only one of the sheep had got home late. Beanie had even managed to open the gate and get them into the fold. That dog is amazing!
Mum still isn't better but at least she's not worse. How's your family? I still want to meet Mandy, Ethan and Sara. You're so lucky having so many siblings! Lewis is all I have and he's annoying. Does any of your other family know how to read?
I'm so bored with farming life. Don't you think it would be fun to do something else? Imagine being a knight! All the glittering armor and tall battle horses! Fighting crime and knocking down bad guys left and right! Helping and saving lives at every turn! Or being a lawyer? Not as much action but you still get to help people. Defending them in court and restoring their rightful property. Or a diplomat! Going to other countries to negotiate peace treaties and organize trading lines from Araluen to other countries! Maybe a horse trainer! Or… A Ranger! Now THAT would be cool! What do you want to do with your life?
I should probably stop writing now otherwise I'm going to get told off for wasting paper. Please write soon,
~Tim~
~*~*~*~
Dear Tim.
Life's good. Sara has finally come to terms with my enjoyment of reading and writing. She doesn't want to learn herself yet but she's stopped rolling her eyes and muttering whenever I get a letter from you. Dad is still a work in progress (to say the least). Mum and Mandy don't care either way and Ethan wants me to teach him. Unfortunately Dad won't hear of it.
It's a shame your Mum's sick. How are you coping with food prep? I shudder to think what would happen if my mum got sick. You'd be surprised at how unlucky it is having so many siblings. With my broken arm I can't help too much with harvest so instead I get the job of child minding. Ethan helps sometimes but Mandy is still too little to work on the farm. I'm trying to teach her to do some chores but its slow going. She has a small bucket that she fills in the stream and then walks back to the house with me to tip it in the water barrel. It takes twice the time to fill the barrel but it's the only way I can think of to get the job done and watch her at the same time. She ends up soaked and I just take her shirt and dress off and she runs round in her underpants. She used to take everything off but one time one of Mum's friends came over while she was naked and that was embarrassing so she keeps the undies now.
I know what you mean about farm life being boring! I think I would like to be a horse trainer if I had the option of something different. I love working with animals and horses are so intelligent! Do you remember Bumper and Tug, the Ranger horses? They were amazing! Imagine training them and working with them every day! We have a plough horse but she isn't as intelligent as the Ranger horses. I think it's partly due to training so I'm going to train her foal better. That foal is so cute! She's a strawberry roan with a dark brown star on her forehead.
I guess I shouldn't waste paper either. Write back soon,
~Rob~
~*~*~*~
Lewis watched from the doorway as his brother finished his letter with a quick scribble that was apparently his name. The frequent letters his brother got had greatly improved his penmanship. He remembered, two years ago, watching him frown in concentration with his tongue protruding from his mouth as he painstakingly moved his hand in exact movements to form the letters. He compared the memory with what he saw now and couldn't hold the smile back. He had never really bothered learning to write. He was a peasant and as long as he knew how to farm and the basics of weaponry he was content to let the king and his nobles sort out the rest. His brother had been the same until two years ago when he disappeared. Ever since coming back he had been more interested in other skills such as reading and writing and the like. Lewis quite liked the change. Especially since 'the like' included catching the occasional rabbit for dinner.
Though some of the other changes made Lewis wonder if his brother was right in the head. He was fascinated with rangers and no amount of lecturing could dissuade him from talking to the Trelleth ranger whenever he came through. He had even invited him home for dinner! Fortunately the ranger was in a rush and had to refuse. Lewis jumped as his brother tapped his shoulder. That was another annoying habit, sneaking up on people.
"Don't do that Tim!" he said, his beating heart making him slightly irritable.
His brother just grinned. "I'm done with my letter. Do you need anything from town?"
Lewis nodded. "Yeah, can you get some more number 8 wire? I can give you the money."
Tim shook his head at the offer of money. "Don't worry, you can reimburse me when I get back."
He tucked the letter under his arm and walked out with a backward grin at his brother. "See-ya later!"
~*~*~*~
Rob looked up as he heard cartwheels and hoof beats on the ground outside. He got up from the table, muttered something about being excused and went outside.
His face brightened as he recognized the mail coach. Tim must have found the time to write again.
The mail man handed him a letter and drove off with a friendly hello and goodbye.
Rob went back inside and sat down again. Sara was always lecturing him about waiting till after dinner to read his letters. He picked up his fork and started eating again. He looked up to see Sara staring at him like he had two heads.
"What?" he asked. Sara shook her head slowly and gestured to the letter,
"You didn't read your letter." She said.
Rob grinned, "My amazingly wise sister keeps telling me not to read until after dinner." He said with cheerful sarcasm.
Sara raised an eyebrow, "And my amazingly obliging brother always listens to his amazingly wise sister doesn't he?" she replied.
Rob grinned again and picked up the letter, "I guess that means I can read it now."
Sara glared at him, "No, you wait till after dinner!"
He laughed and put the letter back on the table and picked up his fork, "Whatever you say Sis."
"Can you teach me to read?" Ethan asked from across the table.
Dad looked up with a puzzled expression, "Why do you want to read? How would it help you in life?" he asked.
Rob glanced at his Dad curiously, he didn't have the usual annoyance in his tone that he normally had whenever the subject of reading or writing came up.
"It can help in life a lot actually. What if you got an important message from someone and you couldn't read it?" He replied.
Dad shook his head, "We can just get you to read it for us."
Rob shoved the last of his food into his mouth and pushed his plate into the middle of the table. He chewed and swallowed before replying.
"What if I'm not here?" he challenged.
Dad frowned thoughtfully, "Where would you go?" he asked.
Rob shrugged, "Anything could happen. I might be kidnapped again or maybe die. You can't always count on other people to help you."
Dad leaned his elbows on the table, "Why not? All the skills we need are basic weaponry and enough muscle to farm. We do our job of providing the nobles with food and men when necessary and they do the job of reading and writing. They do their job and we do ours. It's the way it always has been and always should be."
Rob leaned forward, "But what if the King needs more people to write and plan and stuff. What if he needs more knights or scribes or diplomats? We should learn everything we can so that, when the time comes, we can serve our king and country with all our skills and talents."
Dad pushed back from the table, "Well Rob, I am content to serve him by providing food for his people. If you or your siblings want to serve another way, go ahead. Just don't neglect your chores. You're all dismissed from the table." He announced before turning and leaving the house to take Tooty for a run.
The four siblings exchanged a look with their mum and got up from the table.
The next half hour was the usual organized chaos after a meal. The dishes were done and the table cleaned, flour swept and dry washing folded and sorted to the different people.
Sara put Mandy to bed while Rob read a bed time story to Ethan.
"Can't you teach me to read?" Ethan asked as his eyes drooped closed.
Rob chuckled, "Tomorrow's another day Pup. Goodnight."
Ethan grunted and turned over in his bed, already mostly asleep.
Rob stood up and retrieved his letter, sitting on his bed to read it. He sighed contentedly; it was good to be at home.
Dear Rob.
How's the harvest going? We do animals rather than agriculture so we don't have those problems, although we aren't completely free of troubles. Something has been taking our sheep. I'm planning to hunt it down but Lewis doesn't want me to. He says it's too dangerous and I should ask some knights or something to come get rid of it.
I mean, I prefer it to the previous situation but I'm getting sick of his mother-henning too.
How's your family? Did you ever tell them what actually happened? We were at the dinner table yesterday when I suddenly remembered Maddie telling Julia about grave wrights. I started cracking up and Lewis thought I was mad! I've told my family the vague stuff about what happened but the details are just too dark to talk about. I still get nightmares sometimes although they're less frequent then they were.
Mandy must be so cute! That's pretty funny about your mum's friend coming over when she wasn't wearing anything! I was chuckling about it and Lewis noticed and insisted I tell him why. He's been cracking up at random intervals now too and I roll my eyes and mutter, just loud enough for him to hear, 'And you thought I was crazy'. Then we both crack up laughing together.
The food isn't actually that bad. It was terrible to start with but I've improved my skill now enough that Lewis gives the job to me. I actually quite enjoy it. Mum's going to have to share when she does get better.
Horse training would be interesting… I think the ranger horses are purpose bread for their intelligence though. Many of their moves need a quick and nimble body and somehow I can't see a plough horse doing a lot of that stuff. It's also useful to have a less curious horse as a plough horse because they stay focused on the job easier.
I was wondering, after the harvest finishes, do you want to come camping with me? I want to go somewhere wild for a week or so, far away from civilization. We could take our slings and some cooking stuff. If you want we could meet halfway and camp there. I'm sure there's a good camping spot somewhere between Franker's Ford and Lupus Creek.
How's your arm by the way? You should just about be done with the splint by now eh? I hate having a splint on! It gets so itchy and annoying. When I broke my leg I thought I was going to die from the itching. After the splint came off it hurt slightly but I exaggerated it to get out of chores. It worked but unfortunately Lewis has never stopped mother henning since.
Well, I better go; Lewis is always lecturing me about wasting paper.
Talk to you later.
~Tim~
He folded the letter and doused the candle; He'd write back tomorrow.
~*~*~*~
"Come on Beanie. Let's go." Tim told his faithful dog as he exited the house and headed for the sheep fold.
Beanie ruffed and followed, looking with adoring eyes at his master.
They collected the sheep and headed to the pasture. As they passed the road someone called out and Tim turned to see. He smiled as he recognized the mail deliverer.
A few minutes later Tim and Beanie continued on, Tim carrying a letter under his arm. They went to the pasture and Beanie began his patrol, running circles round the sheep and making sure they didn't stray.
Tim sat down and read his letter, content with the knowledge that Beanie would alert him if anything was wrong.
Dear Tim.
Harvest is good. How are your sheep doing? Has Lewis let you hunt the pest yet?
I know what you mean about mother-henning. The splint's been taken off but Sarah won't let me do anything even slightly difficult and she's trying to get me to have afternoon naps.
My family is good, Mandy has started helping with the chores now and Ethan has to look after the plough horse and her foal. I told Mum and Dad the vague stuff and Sarah a few more details. Much as she's annoying it's really nice having a big sister to talk to. She seems to understand everything and has the best hugs although I have a suspicion that she thinks me mad too.
I get the occasional nightmare as well but I find the best way to deal with it is to tell someone. I tell tooty and she just looks at me with her big round eyes and wags her tail whenever I say her name. You'd be surprised how much a good talk with a dog can help.
I got a job! The innkeeper's wife is sick and he needs someone to help with the evening rush. Since you can't really do anything after dark I've taken up the offer. The pay's a bit skimpy but better than nothing and probably no more than the innkeeper can afford.
I would love to come camping! I'll have to wait till the innkeeper's wife is better but I think I know the perfect spot. It's kind of hidden. I found it one time while I was hunting and ever since I've wanted to camp there.
I laughed my head off when I remembered Julia and have been chuckling at random moments ever since.
I better go. Lewis is right about paper being expensive.
I keep remembering how Paul kept asking how the ranger killed the Stealer and laughing over that too.
Write back soon,
~Rob~
P.S. happy birthday! What are you now, fourteen?Tim smiled and folded the letter. He'd reply when they got home.
~*~*~*~
Rob sat on his bed and opened his letter. If he had to 'rest' he might as well read while he did it.
Dear Rob.
Yeah, fourteen.
Lewis did let me hunt the pest. Turns out it was only a large stoat. I killed it with my sling. It only took one shot and I hit dead on the forehead (literally). I think Maddie would have been proud.
It had an amazing pelt. I should be able to get quite a bit of money for it at the market and Beanie enjoyed the meat and guts.
Afternoon naps? Seriously? You'd think she would at least let you keep babysitting!
What chores does Mandy do? I hope for your sake it isn't filling the water barrel.
I thought you were going to look after the horse and her foal. Didn't you want to train it?
I wouldn't actually be very surprised about the difference a good dog can make because that's who I always tell whenever I need to get it off my chest. The second best option is a cow. I think it's the big eyes that make them so appealing.
Talk about appealing, Mum is getting better. She's happy to let me keep the job of cooking for now but she's given me a few pointers about how to improve the meal. I caught a rabbit the other day and she taught me how to roll the pieces in herbs and flour to improve the taste.
That's cool that you have a job! And sad that the innkeeper's wife is sick. Give her willow bark tea and garlic.
Lewis was still cracking up over Mandy so I told him about Paul's curiosity over the Stealer's fate. He keeps giving me meaningful glances and we both crack up.
I think, for the camping trip, it would be best if you decide when to do it. Just tell me when and where to meet you and I'll be there.
I really shouldn't use up the paper so see-ya.
~Tim~
~*~*~*~
Tim arrived home, put the sheep away and turned to stoop under the low hanging eaves of the house.
Beanie barked and he turned round again. The mail coach was approaching and he patted Beanie and went to meet it.
"Thanks." he said as he turned away again, the letter from Rob in his hand. He gave beanie another pat on the head and went inside.
Lewis looked up as he came in and they exchanged a friendly hello.
Tim got started on dinner, taking a bowl down from the high shelf with already prepared rabbit meat in it. He had prepared a sort of marinade and had left the rabbit joints soaking up the flavours all day.
He took a frying pan from the rack and put more wood in the stove. When the pan was hot he tossed the meat in, listening in satisfaction to the sizzling hiss they gave as they cooked.
He tossed onion and some other chopped veggies in and waited, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. He put the sour greens in and covered the pot so they could wilt, then served the food to his hungry family.
They ate at the table, chatting about the day's events and weather until the meal was finished and Lewis got up to do the dishes. There were certain advantages to cooking. Tim took his plate to the bench and then retreated to his room to read his letter.
Dear Tim.
Yes, Seriously. She lets me help with harvest now but only half days.
Mandy sweeps the floor and feeds the chooks. And yes, I did want to train the foal but dad seemed to agree with you about plough horses' curiosity and Sara said it's too much strain on my arm.
Ethan does a good job though and the horses are both happy so oh well.
Unfortunately we don't have a cow but you may be correct about the eyes. Our horses are great to talk to.
It's good your Mum is getting better.
Your advice was good. The innkeeper's wife tried it and she's improving heaps.
Boy that Willow bark stuff smells gross! I guess I'd drink it if it got me better but seriously, yuck!
Ethan is doing well with his reading. I let him read your letters and he really enjoys them.
Harvest is almost over and the innkeeper's wife is almost better so I guess that means we can start planning the camping trip.
It would probably be good to go sooner rather than later. After harvest there's about a month where it's just jobs involving the horse and only one person can do them anyway so we might as well go then.
Meet me on the main road in about one and a half weeks. We can both go along there till we find each other and then we'll find a suitable camping spot.
Dad's really been complaining about my paper consumption lately so I better go.
~Rob~
P.S. This is from Ethan:
Deer Tim.
Rob is teeching me how to reed and right.
Mandy fel over today and graized her knee but mumy kissed it beter so its alright now. Sara says im to litle to learn all this stuf and that phesants shuldnt reed anyway but I dissaggry.
Rob says I shuldnt waist paper so buy.
~Ethan~
What do you think?
Apologies for spelling and grammar mistakes, plus the interesting fonts. I was having a bit of fun.
Reviews are appreciated!
Till next time and as always;
ATGTJ
