Lavinia sat next to Helena in silence until they stopped for the evening. Helena halted their wagon in a small field to the side of the country road they had been making their way down. A camp was quickly set up, and the evening was clear and surprisingly warm for the season.
"You have been surprisingly quiet for a girl who has just found herself completely uprooted from the home and family she knew." It had been four hours since Lavinia had been informed by the tall woman she now accompanied that her father had exchanged her for some stolen strawberries when her mother was still pregnant with her. Helena had come to collect her on her twelfth birthday, as promised, to find the girl completely unaware of the situation and living under a different name than the one that Helena had chosen for her.
"I was thinking. Today has been a bit of a shock, and I needed some time to process it all. I still don't understand what I'm doing here, or why you want me." Lavinia sat down near the small campfire so that she could keep an eye on the kettle that held their dinner for the night.
"Why was your brother the only one to accompany you back to meet me? I would have thought your parents would have wanted to spend every second with you. I was even prepared to wait until tomorrow morning to set out."
"I… I didn't even say goodbye to them. When I came up the stairs to tell them about you I overheard mother whispering to Papa about the new baby, how she would replace me if you came to take me away."
"What new baby?"
"My new baby sister, she was just born this morning. I thought that if I was so easily replaced, there wasn't much point in saying goodbye."
"So that's why you had been crying, not because you were sad to be leaving, but because you felt that you weren't wanted."
"Yes. I guess that Adrian overheard them, and saw me in the doorway. He followed me to my room and held me while I cried. He helped me pack, and even gave me my birthday presents. That's when I found out my parents were trying to get rid of me soon anyway. They had got me a set of combs for my birthday, and were already starting to look for a husband for me, one that would pay a good bride price. They didn't even ask me first!"
"You poor child, I've never understood why people try to marry off their daughters so young. It can be downright cruel, sometimes. What else did you get for your birthday?"
"Edmund gave me a dagger and a little knife. He's apprenticed to the blacksmith, and I think he made them himself. The twins carved me some wooden beads. Well, they did some of the carving, they're ten, and I think Master Greenbow helped them. He's the local carpenter, and his son and the twins are the best of friends. Little Gregory gave me some candles. They're a bit lumpy, but I'm sure they'll work. He's only seven, and he hand dipped them. Adrian and his intended, Phoebe, gave me several yards of good wool cloth, some nice wool yarn, and Adrian made me this belt and purse."
"They're beautiful, child. Your brothers, at least, seem to hold you in great affection. I am glad that your parents had not yet arranged a marriage for you. You do not seem like the kind of girl who aspires to nothing more than the life of a brood mare housekeeper. What questions do you have for me?"
"Who are you exactly, and what do you expect from me?"
"Excellent questions, both of them. My name, as I told you is Helena. Helena Brightstar. I am a witch. No, not the kind that lures witless children to their deaths in the woods; I am a practitioner of white magic. That is why I asked you to come with me, I did not demand it. White magic is not by nature a magic of force, but of choice and consequences. I also have some skill in earth magic, and have a bit of training with neutral or grey magic. I never use black magic, it eats away at a person's soul and takes on a life of its own.
"For your second question, I expect nothing more from you than what you are willing to do. I will teach you all I know, if you wish. You seem to have the right temperament for it, and the right morals, or you would never have upheld your father's promise voluntarily when given a choice. That's why I provided you with one. It was a test. I have always wanted a daughter, one I could teach and train and love, but a witch's life is not well suited to the raising of a small child, and few of us ever have children. It is not the easiest life, for with the power comes the obligation to protect those who ask for our help. Most of us take on an apprentice when we get older, and then retreat to the most remote place we can find, so we are not pestered by every fool and dreamer."
"I think I should like that. At least it sounds better than being sold off to the sheriff's youngest son."
"Almost anything would be, in my opinion, especially if the son is anything like how I remember the father."
"I wouldn't know. Where are we going?"
"We're to meet up with some friends of mine in Audenburg. They're a group of traveling performers, mostly gypsies. They travel from town to town making a living juggling, tumbling, dancing, singing, and performing daring feats of "Magic." There's little to no real magic involved, but they're kind hearted to their friends, and fiercely loyal. Tell me, do you sing? I usually wrap myself in colorful scarves and read fortunes for giggling maidens and gossipy housewives."
"I'm no great singer, but I can dance a little. Just the country dances we did during festivals, nothing special. I was always better with a needle and thread."
"Is the work on your blouse your own?"
"Yes. It is."
"Will you show me the contents of your trunk while we wait for out dinner to cook? I promise, everything that is yours will remain so. I can even help you protect your trunk better when we have reached Audenburg and I can have a bit of time to work on it."
"I would like that. Can you help me with the trunk? It's a bit heavy for me on my own."
The two decided to simply clime into the wagon, rather than take the trunk down. Out of the trunk came Lavinia's birthday presents, as well as several lengths of fabric and her sewing basket. Lavinia had two other skirts, and three other shirts-one other was heavily embroidered and the other two had been left mostly plain, with only a bit of black work around the collar and cuffs. She took out the plainest of her skirts and shirts, along with a clean chemise, to change into for the rest of the journey.
In the trunk she also had a heavily embroidered apron and cap she wore for festivals, an embroidered bodice she had made to mach her scarlet skirt and a brightly embroidered shawl she had traded for at a fair last year because she wished to copy the patterns stitched on it. She had traded an intricately decorated sash for it, and the woman who she had traded with was just as pleased as she had been, probably for similar reasons. Two other, more practical shawls were also in the trunk as well as the linens, quilts and fabric she had set aside for her hope chest and a few other odds and ends.
"Good, you have something to wear once we join the troupe in Audenburg. Now, why don't we see about washing up in that stream before dinner?"
Helena helped Lavinia pack everything back into her trunk before they both made their way just far enough into the woods down stream that they could keep an eye on their camp, but were out of sight of the road. There was a small pool that formed along one side of the stream that was about waist deep, and very clear. Both women shed their clothing and Helena produced a bar of fragrant soap that smelled strongly of rosemary. Helena's deep red hair fell just past her waist, and she immediately started to work the soap into her hair once it was wet. Lavinia spent several minutes picking hair-pins out of her own hair before uncoiling the large knot it had been confined to, leaving her with a long braid that fell to her knees. Once unbraided, her golden hair came nearly down to her feet. Lavinia slowly eased her way into the cool stream water to join Helena, and then started to work soap into her own hair, relishing the fact that she did not have five brothers waiting impatiently and trying to hurry her along. The water was a bit cooler than she preferred, but she was acclimating to it quickly. Helena looked up from where she was now rinsing the soap out of her hair and gasped.
"My goodness, you really do have a lot of hair. It's beautiful, but may be a bit impractical on the road." Helena's own hair, now dripping wet, looked as if it had been drenched in blood, and contrasted sharply with her fair skin and intense green eyes.
"Mother always insisted that I keep it as long as possible until after I was married," Lavinia replied. "She said it was one of my best assets. Should I cut it?"
"It's up to you, child. You're the one whose head it's attached to. I've just always found my hair easier to maintain if I keep it waist length when I'm on the road for a while. We'll be with the troupe for at least the next seven months, so you might want to think about it. If you do decide to cut it, you could probably sell it for a goodly sum to someone who makes wigs for rich nobles whose own hair is going unfashionably grey and thin."
"I'll cut it then. It was always Mother who insisted on keeping it long. I always thought it was a bit of trouble anyway. Seems she was just trying to increase my profit value. Would you help me when we're done here?"
"Of course."
The two emerged from the stream some time later, and carefully dried themselves off, and put on clean chemises, then wrapped themselves in their cloaks and brought the rest of their clothing back to their camp. Helena fetched her own comb and a pair of sharp scissors. She first combed out her own hair and then sat behind Lavinia to start combing through hers. The rich golden color of Lavinia's glowed in the light of the dying sun as Helena slowly worked the tangles out. When she finally finished she reached the scissors and asked Lavinia "Are you sure?"
"Quiet sure. Think of it as one more way in which I can shed my parent's influence and greed."
"Alright, how short would you like me to cut it?"
"About to my waist, like yours."
"Ok, it'll be a bit hard to judge, hair tends to stretch when it's wet."
"That's fine, I don't care if it's a bit shorter. It's not like I'm trying to snare a husband or anything, and it always grows back."
"That's true." With that Helena took a short length of yarn and tied Lavinia's hair together several inches below where she intended to cut it. She then took the hair in her left hand and the scissors in her right and cut the hair off roughly at Lavinia's waist level. Helena handed Lavinia the severed bundle and then trimmed the ends even while Lavinia braided the cut hair into a tidy rope and tied it off with another bit of yarn. Lavinia's hair dried into loose curls that fell just short of her waist.
The two women re-dressed when they felt that they were mostly dry. By then the beans were cooked enough to eat and they both enjoyed a warm supper before rolling up in their cloaks and a couple of wool blankets for the night.
They continued on the next morning and spent the next two nights similarly to the first one. Lavinia discovered that Helena would take the opportunity to bathe whenever possible. Lavinia's mother had always claimed that bathing more than once a week was unnecessary and put you in peril of washing away your soul. Helena claimed that that was sheer nonsense and told Lavinia that it was actually much healthier to remain as clean as possible, as it helped to prevent disease and infection.
They crested the top of a small hill just before sunset on their third full day of travel to see a large town laid out below them on the banks of a river. No more than a mile away from the town, on a near by hill was perched an imposing stone castle. Just outside of the town walls was set up an array of brightly colored tents, from which cheerful music could be heard. The tents were set up around a large fire, and people from the town were starting to make their way to a second small bonfire nearer to the town gates.
"looks like this is their first night in town as well, good. I was worried we'd beat them here and have to get a room at an inn for a night or two."
"Is this Audenbutg?"
"Yes, this is Audenburg."
"I've never seen a town this big before. I've never been farther than Upper Gerrik, for the county fair. Last year, I and several other girls from the village got together and set up a stand and I was able to make a bit of money off some of my embroidery. Phoebe sold some of her yarn and a couple of rugs she had made, and a couple of other girls had embroidery and lace they had done up. Of course, my parents took most of the money I made from the whole thing, but it was fun, and I was able to trade for that shawl. Some of the money went for the fabric for my wedding dress. I have it in my trunk. I guess they were already thinking about marrying me off. I was just so excited that some of the money was actually going to something for myself."
"All of that money should have been yours, or gone to things for your hope chest. You're the one who earned it, and they had no right to take it from you."
"Maybe that's where they got the money for those combs. Besides, I'm just a girl, and they've fed me and clothed me and raised me for twelve years. They said they were entitled to anything I made. That it wasn't really mine anyway, that it really belonged to them."
"They were wrong. It was you who put all the time and effort into that embroidery, above and beyond any chores you had around the house I'm sure. They probably made you do the most of the sewing and mending for the whole household. I'm sorry I didn't come for you sooner, child. I should have told them I would claim you when you were younger."
"I did have to do a great deal of the sewing and mending. Mother always said she had to do the cleaning and help Father with the bakery, and I should pull my own weight around the house. I also usually had to look after the little ones. She would go out visiting the neighbor women and leave me home to look after my younger brothers once I was seven or so. I wasn't allowed out much though; there were always more chores for me to do."
"I think I'm really starting to hate your mother. She's probably going to do the same thing to your sister, you know. I've half a mind to spirit her away in the night in a year or two, just to save her from your parents. I can't save every girl from her greedy parents though."
By this point they had reached the encampment of the traveling entertainers. A tall, dark haired, dark eyed, golden skinned man in black leather boots and trousers, a red sash and colorful vest came out of one of the tents to greet them.
"Helena, I see you've picked up the girl. What a lovely young lady she is! We just got here, so don't worry about tonight, just get settled and we can talk after we've given the good people of Audenburg a taste of what we can do. We'll be working tomorrow night as well and then all day the next. Now, introduce me to this golden haired beauty of yours."
"Lavinia, this is Marrin. He's more or less in charge of the Sparrowstar troupe of traveling entertainers. Marrin, this is Lavinia, my new apprentice."
"Splendid! A true pleasure to meet you miss Lavinia. Do you by any chance sing or play an instrument? I whuldn't expect a girl like you to be taught how to tumble or juggle. You are a bit young, perhaps, to be dancing and entertaining the men."
"I should certainly think so, Marrin! She's twelve."
"I'm not much of a singer, and I've never really entertained others. I spent most of my time in doors. I can sew and cook, and I've made a bit of money with my embroidery, but my parents tended to keep me away from people outside the family. I had two older brothers and three younger. They made sure I could hold my own in a fight. Oh, my second brother was apprenticed to a blacksmith. He and the other apprentice learned how to juggle knives and daggers in their spare time. He taught me how two summers ago. I may need a bit of practice, but if I could get my hands on a set of daggers, I'm pretty sure that I could get that sorted out fairly quickly. I could probably juggle other things too."
"Well, my nimble fingered lass, who would have thought that a baker's daughter could juggle knives. Can you throw them as well?"
"I can usually hit a target well enough. Better than my brothers anyway."
"Good. Helena, tomorrow see if you can get the girl a set of daggers and knives. One she can use for both performance and as real weapons. I like having people who can defend themselves. We'll see if she can work with Marc. Melina ran off with some merchant's son two weeks ago, and he's never been good at solo performance. He doesn't have the showmanship his sister did. He can teach her some archery as well, if you find that acceptable. Melina's costumes might be a bit big, but I'm sure if she's clever with her needle, our fair haired lass can bring them down to her size. How long will you ladies be with us?"
"We'll stay on with you through the touring season," Helena responded, "I'm not sure if we'll winter with the troop or not, but it's just as easy for me to teach her the first year or two on the road as it would be holed up in some cottage somewhere. I'm harder to find this way too."
"Alonzo giving you trouble again?"
"Yes, he's looking for me again, bastard. He's been giving me nothing but trouble for the last twenty years. Why do you think I keep attaching myself to tiny villages and traveling caravans? The bugger hates to get his boots muddy, and refuses to mingle with common folk. He's got himself a nice tower now. It's in the middle of some forest, and he's got it warded to stop an army, from what I've heard. I also heard that one of the wards stops all magic except his own from working for more than a mile in any direction. He caught himself some pretty young journeyman mage and used his life force to set the wards according to the rumors, and he wants my blood to finish the job. That's why he's been especially persistent for the last two years. He wants to use me to finish the wards."
"No sense of family, your brother. He has absolutely no heart."
"It's the magic, he got greedy and delved into the black arts. Now there's no turning back for him, and I'm no where near powerful enough to take him on my own."
"Wait a minute," piped up Lavinia, "who's this brother of yours? Is he dangerous?"
"Alonzo was my brother, before he got so deep into the black magics that it twisted his soul. He is extremely dangerous. He has a taste for innocent young women and bloodshed, but I have no intention of letting him find us. As I said, he hates to get his boots muddy and mingle with the common folk. He's not likely to find us with a band of traveling entertainers, and I can usually feel him coming from several miles away. That's plenty of time to get away and hide from him. He doesn't know about you, and I have no intention of letting him find out that I've taken an apprentice. I'm most likely to leave you with the troupe if I have to go hide down a hole for a while. You'll be safe with Marrin.
"I'll take you into town tomorrow and we'll sell that braid of yours. That should pay for a hansom set of daggers, and still leave you a fair sum to put away. We can also pick up several other items you will need, and I have a couple of errands as well. As my apprentice, I'll pay most of your living costs, though those will be few while we're with the troupe, but it's always good to have a stash of funds for an emergency. Any money you earn will be your own. I'll do something about that trunk of yours tonight."
"Braid?" Marrin asked.
"Yes, Lavinia's parents, especially her mother, saw her as a way to make themselves a good bit of profit. They kept most of her earnings from her embroidery, and were doing there very best to arrange a marriage for her that would pay them the best bride price, with no thought about how she would be treated by her future husband once she as married. Her mother insisted on making her grow her hair out as long as possible, probably to make her more enticing to the wrong sort of high paying men, and it was nearly down to her feet. She had me cut it, and we saved the braid to sell once we got to a large enough town to have a wig maker."
"Ah, you'll be far happier with us than married to some rich pig of a man Miss Lavinia. We may be a bit disreputable in some circles, but we never mistreat our women. A girl who juggles knives and apprentices herself to a sorceress is far too intelligent to waste on some landowners fat son."
"Especially when the father is known to have a wandering eye and a taste for young girls in his bed," Helena added under her breath, but loudly enough for both of her companions to hear. "We'll just get set up here, Marrin, and let you get back to the entrainment of somewhat gullible townsfolk. Who's running the fortune telling booth tonight?"
"Sadly, my dear mother is sick tonight, so we shall be without a fortune teller for the night. Can I expect that you will assume the role tomorrow night for us? Or would you prefer to charm the gentlemen with your dancing?"
"I'll tell fortunes. You've got plenty of other dancers, and those gossiping housewives pay good money for me to tell them how many fat grandchildren they have, or if the handsome young shopkeeper on the corner is secretly pining for them, despite their married status, or if their rich uncle is going to suddenly die and leave them all his money. I thank my lucky stars that Clarissa found me when she did and made me her apprentice, else I'd probably be one of those gullible, fat gossipers myself. We shall see you after the show tonight, and then I can introduce Lavinia to the rest of the group."
Marrin wandered off as Helena and Lavinia started to pitch a tent of their own, and unload their wagon. Each woman set out a bed roll for herself inside the tent and Helena retrieved a small brazier over which could be set a warming plate for tea water and the like. A young woman of 16 joined them once the show outside had started.
The young woman had ebony black hair and the same golden colored skin that Marrin had had and she resembled him greatly. She was dressed in black boots and trousers and wore a dark green shirt under an embroidered black vest. Her thick, curling hair had been caught at the base of her neck with a black cord. She greeted Helena warmly with a hug and kiss.
"Hello, Aunt Helena. Father said you had arrived. I don't usually perform for the evening shows anymore. My riding is good enough that Father said I could quit dancing now." It was at this point she noticed Lavinia. "Hello, you must be Lavinia. I'm Alissia. I believe you met my father, Marrin?" Lavinia nodded. "Good. I think we shall be great friends, I have a good feeling about you. Aunt Helena, I have a favor to ask. Father said that you were going in to town tomorrow, and that one of your stops would be at a wigmakers, to sell off a braid of Lavinia's. Now that I don't have to dance anymore, I'd rather keep my hair short. It'll be easier to ride if I don't have to worry about wisps blowing in my face, and I'm getting frightfully tired of the village men making grabs at me or pinching me. wearing pants all the time does not seem to pose enough of a deterrent to them. If I ask nicely, will you cut my hair as well and take the braid in with you to sell? I'm afraid that if I just go to the wig maker and let them do it, they'll cheat me, or cut my hair too short. I still have to look good on a horse, I just don't want to look so feminine!"
Lavinia's eyes widened a bit at this. A woman keeping her hair waist length for ease of care while traveling was one thing, but for a woman to want short hair was a daring and scandalous thought. She had never seen a woman with short hair! Alissia noticed the younger girl's expression, and smiled. "You'll find that most of us don't hold much with the arbitrary morals and values that most society does. We're far too practical. I'm a trick rider for the troupe, and my hair is more of a hindrance than anything else when I'm on a horse. It's always escaping and getting in my eyes, and I don't particularly like the risk of it getting caught in my gear at the wrong moment. While I was still learning my riding tricks, I also had to join the girls who dance. Everyone has to pitch in around here. This season two of the younger girls joined the dancers, so that left me to concentrate on my riding full time. This is only our second stop of the season, and my mother is a bit scandalized. She doesn't think trick riding is something a girl should be doing. She's a singer herself, and when I mentioned that I intended to cut my hair short, she had a bit of a fit, but Father said I was old enough to make my own choices, and she calmed down a bit when I told her it might discourage the townsmen a bit. People tend to think that just because we make our living entertaining others we have no morals at all. It's frustrating sometimes, but I can't imagine any other life."
By this time Helena had found her scissors and Alissia had untied her long hair. Loose, it fell well past her hips. "Dancing girls have to have long hair. The whole point is to look as attractive as possible to the men. The singers are like that as well. We're selling an image as much as any performance we enact. That's another reason I want short hair, it will make me look different, it will make me memorable. Besides being safer and more practical, I want to seem aloof and mysterious to the audiences. People enjoy seeing oddities in a show and a woman who dresses like a man and keeps her hair short is an oddity."
"How short would you like me to cut it?"
"It needs to stay out of my face, and still look attractive when it's been blown all over by my riding. You know how the other riders keep their hair—something like that. I trust your judgment, Aunt Helena."
"Lavinia, come gather up the hair as I cut it. We'll get a bit more length out of it that way, rather than if I simply braided it and cut off the braid, before cleaning up the hairstyle." With that Helena set to work with Alissia's hair, cutting off all but about two to three inches of it. The curly mass left on Alissia's head when Helena was done was messy but not unattractive, even when Helena ruffled her fingers through it. Lavinia was left with a lap full of curly black hair which she tied into a bundle with Alissia's discarded hair tie.
Alissia examined her new hairstyle in Helena's hand mirror. "Thanks Aunt Helena, this is exactly what I wanted."
"Are you coming into town with us tomorrow?" asked Lavinia. She was starting to like this talkative, if somewhat odd girl. Her exuberance reminded Lavinia a bit of her twin brothers: Always talkative and friendly, and always trying one stunt or another, just for the mischief of it.
"I'm not sure. I'd like to, if that's alright with you two, but I'm not sure if Father is going to need me around tomorrow. Marc's been a bit down since his sister Melina ran off. They had a couple of fabulous knife and dagger routines, but I honestly don't miss her a bit. She was a bit obnoxious, and spent way to much time flirting with the locals for her own good. She never really loved the work the way most of the rest of us do, she just saw it as a way to make money and have an adventure at the same time. When the adventure wore off she started looking for some young handsome local she could seduce into marring her and providing her with the comfortable life she thought she deserved. Marc's got a good head on his shoulders, and he enjoys the work more than his sister ever did, but I think he was a bit blind to her attitudes, and she broke his heart when she left. It didn't help that she just upped and took off with out even a proper goodbye. She left him stranded with a two person act and only one performer. He looked so lost that night after he found her note. He's been a bit lost ever since. Father's a bit concerned about him, but we don't have anyone to partner with him."
"Marrin said something about paring me with someone named Marc. One of my brothers taught me to juggle and throw daggers a couple of years ago. I'm probably terribly rusty, but I'm hoping that I can get up to some kind of decent shape fairly quickly."
"That's fabulous! We've got Marc doing some basic juggling and knife tricks right now, but Melina was the real showman. He's actually terribly shy when you put him by himself in front of a crowd. You'll love him though, he's got such a kind heart. I just don't understand how Melina could go and do something like this to him."
"It sounds like someone has a bit of a crush on dear Marc, Alissia," Helena injected.
"Marc and I have started seeing a great deal of each other since last winter. We haven't really gone much farther than kissing, but Father knows about it and we have his full support."
"I see. Good for you then. Marc will probably be good for you. Just promise me you'll wait a few years before you start having kids together, and that you won't keep riding the way you do when you do get pregnant. I want strong, healthy godchildren to spoil rotten."
"I have no intention of having children any time in the near future. You taught me how to keep from getting pregnant when I don't want to, and neither of us are going to be ready to have children for several years at least, no matter how much my mother wants grandchildren."
"So, are you two actually related? You keep calling Helena 'Aunt?'" Lavinia asked Alissia.
"No, we're not actually related. Aunt Helena helped my father out of a bit of trouble shortly before I was born, and he asked her to join the troupe and be my godmother shortly after that. She's been with the troupe off and on for the past sixteen years. Sometimes she stays for a month or two, some times she spends a season with us. She's wintered with us twice, and she's never been gone for more than four years. I know of at least three cottages or houses she owns, in different towns or villages, but we have always considered her one of us. She's family, and because of her, you're family too now, Lavinia Brightstar."
"What?" Lavinia looked from Alissia to Helena with confusion. Helena answered her.
"Child, you're not just an apprentice, you're something of an adopted daughter. You are using the name I gave you and became my daughter when you accepted my claim on you."
"Oh. Well, I'm OK with that, I guess."
"So, who were you before you fell in with us?" Alissia asked. "We've got plenty of time to talk before the townsfolk clear out for the evening."
"I was a baker's daughter, in Lower Gerrik. I had two older brothers and three younger ones. Oh, I had a brand new baby sister, as well. We were all exceptionally normal, or I thought we were until a few days ago. Other than Edmund's secret knife juggling lessons, I was the perfect daughter. I was good at embroidery, and was generally kept close to home. I found out that my parents had started husband shopping on my birthday, when Helena came for me."
"Husband shopping? You can't be more than thirteen or so!"
"Twelve. Girls marry young in the country. It's supposed to keep us out of mischief."
"But then how old are the husbands?"
"Oh, boys don't get married until they finish their apprenticeship, at least. My oldest brother, Adrian, is 18, and he's courting the local tailor and weaver's daughter. Phoebe's fifteen. She's actually one of my best friends. The two of us got together last summer with a couple of other girls from the village and had a booth at the fair in Upper Gerrik. I sold some of my embroidery, she had several small rugs and tapestries she had woven, and a couple other girls had some lace they had been working on. It was great fun, and we all took turns minding the booth. Of course, my parents took most of the money I made from the whole thing, but it was fun."
"You didn't get to keep what you earned? That's outrageous!"
"Country people tend to view daughters more as property than as individual people, Alissia," Helena interjected. "Fortunately I managed to snag Lavinia before her parents sold her off to the Sheriff's youngest son, or someone else equally disgusting. She's far to intelligent for that."
"Welcome to a better life, Lavinia. I'm sure you'll love it here." With that Alissia grabbed the younger girl in a friendly hug, and ended up knocking the both of them over onto the floor of the tent, where they sprawled in a tangle of arms and legs. Giggling, they managed to extricate themselves and then spent the next hour chattering. Alissia decided to try to convince Marc to come into town with them the next day, in an attempt to cheer him up. When the sounds of the show outside died down, and they heard the townsfolk depart, the three women made their way out of the tent, and to the cooking fire that most of the tents were clustered around.