I'm sorry this took so looooong! I had planned to have this chapter up before Spring Break, but somethings came up at school and home D,x Not that I even write at home, due to the lack of MS Word, but I digress. This chapter is mostly to introduce Anita into the equation, since I wanted her to be in the story almost right from the get-go. I hope you like how I wrote her~
Notes on names: "Rosie" Maria's affectionate nickname for "Rosalyn," which I got the idea for from one of my friends. -less than three-
Fuerza : The Spanish word for "force" or "strength"
Lovina made a small sound as she was drearily brought back to the waking world, she must have fallen asleep after Maria ran out of the room. Slowly the brunette sat up, yawning widely and rubbing at her eye with one of her fists, in her still sleepy mind she was half-aware of the blanket that had been draped over her, and glancing around she saw that the aftermath of her first tantrum had been cleaned up. A maid had probably came up and cleaned up. Lovina glanced out the window on the adjacent wall, noting that the night sky was beginning to turn pale with the rising sun. Had she slept through the entire night? Throwing two tantrums could take it out of a person. Lovina frowned at the though, she did not throw tantrums. She was a fully grown woman, not a child; she handled the situation like anyone like her would have. Her bouts of anger were completely within reason the brunette decided, stretching her arms up high above her head.
Thankfully (or not) Lovina couldn't remember anyone even trying to get her up for dinner, a decision probably made by her mother. Not being woken up was a double sided coin so to speak; on one hand she didn't have to hear Feliciano babble on and on and on about what kind of wedding dress Louise would be wearing, what flowers they would get, what the theme would be, who they would invite, all that gag-worthy chatter that would dominate the evening meal. If Lovina did come down for dinner, no doubt her father would continue, in her stern-as-always tone that Lovina would have to start acting like a proper lady. This meant that she would actually have to start wearing stockings and corsets and the like; something that she had miraculously been avoiding for years. She really didn't want to hear about her engagement, and talking about it how good "he" would treat her wouldn't make Lovina agree to it any more.
With a sigh Lovina pushed herself off the bed, unlocking the window and swinging the panels out, looking over the town that her manor was comfortably situated in. To be fair, it was one of the suburbs of the larger city to the north, but it would always be a town to Lovina. Small, and humble, it served more as a sort of port and trade town to the much larger city. If there was anything the brunette was grateful for, it was the decision to build her home in that area, she would no doubt suffocate from the stuffiness of the other people if she lived in a larger place.
Taking a deep, calming breath of the slightly salty air mixed with the scent of breakfast being made somewhere, Lovina decided that a little walk would help clear her mind, she certainly wasn't going back to bed anytime soon. Falling asleep in her lunch that afternoon was a small price to pay for a nice, stress-free morning to herself. Nodding she turned around and moved towards the door, making sure her steps were especially light as she walked down the corridor towards the stairs leading to the ground floor. None of the servants would be up yet, at least not enough to catch the young woman in the act of sneaking out of her own house,
"What am I thinking?" Lovina murmured to herself. "I'm allowed to come and go as I damn well please. I could even run away if I wanted to; what then, Father?" She sneered lightly at the memory of her father's ever stoic face and no-nonsense tone of voice, there wasn't any shred of sympathy when he broke the news to Lovina. (How he ever managed to get along so well with her tender, soft spoken mother she would never know.) After what felt like hours, Lovina touched down on the first floor landing, going into a slow job towards the front door, her flat-bottom shoes clacking against the marble floors the only sound that filled the manor at that moment. She smirked to herself when she realized her assumption had been right about there being little to no servants awake at this time of morning, but in the back of her mind wondered if she was obsessive compulsive for committing the servant's schedules almost completely to memory. It was just an after-effect of living in the manor for so long, Lovina thought with a nod as she pushed the double doors of the manor open, the semi-warm early morning air blowing into the building, brushing merrily past her face and the hem of her knee-length cream colored dress. The sun was slightly higher now, turning the sky into a canvas of gold and pale purples the east, the rest of the sky semi-dark blue, the night trying to hold on to its dominion over the sky for a while longer.
Taking an almost tentative step forward Lovina walked past the perfectly cut lawn that surrounded the manor, past the perfectly symmetrical cut hedges, the heads of roses just now starting to poke out, slowly waking up at the arrival of spring, and continued on. There were already a few people walking outside, sweeping front porches of cozy little houses, giving the noble a respectful nod when they caught sight of the brunette. The lanterns had yet to be put out, giving the area an almost dream-like feeling, it was almost surreal and it made Lovina feel more relaxed than she had for several hours. As she passed, she managed to catch the sigh printed proudly on one of the windows of the shops, mannequins of heads decorated with several different hats being displayed proudly to all.
'Kirkland Hattery' was what was displayed on the front window, a hand standing in view and wiping the glass clean, eyes narrowed in concentration behind shaggy sandy-blond bangs. In some sort of ironic twist, Lovina remembered that Louise and Maria's shop was close to where she was; down the road, on the corner of the next intersection. Feliciano had dragged her there several times before he finally gathered the courage to ask Louise for her hand; other times he needed his sister's help to deliver overly extravagant gifts to the two siblings. Lovina snorted lightly and continued on her way, why would she ever want to go see Louise and Maria? Granted, to get to the center of town she needed to pass by their shop but still…
Lovina blinked when she saw a new woman walking the opposite direction she was, coming up the road with light, feminine steps. The way she moved signified a naturally born grace, how her skirts so perfectly brushed over her legs with each step, a delicate white shawl draped over her shoulders that she clutched to her body like she was cold. Long, slightly wavy chestnut colored hair flowing somewhere near her mid-back, finally a pair of glasses sat on the edge of her nose. She looked like some sort of expensive porcelain doll, like she would fall over and break if she took any more daring steps than what she took. Was she a noble from somewhere? What could a foreign noble want in the suburbs of the much more grandiose royal city?
Despite herself, Lovina watched as the mysterious woman stepped up onto the porch of Beilschmidt's Clothing and Tailoring and rang the bell by the door, waiting a few moments before the door opened, a silver-haired head popping out.
"Rosie~" Maria chimed happily, grabbing the other girl's hand and pulling her inside with an almost alien amount of tenderness, Maria and "tender" weren't two things that were usually side-by-side when describing the older of the sisters.
Lovina, finally deciding to stop walking so slowly quickened her pace, walking past the from window of the tailoring shop just in time to see Maria pull the woman into a loving embrace, nuzzling into her neck affectionately. Like she was expecting Lovina to walk by the window at that exact moment, and she didn't waste anytime in pulling away just enough to kiss the other brunette passionately on the lips. The noblewoman averted her eyes from the scene and pressed on; didn't Maria care that she was kissing another woman in a place anyone could see?
"Wait, wait, wait! Yes, you, can you wait a second?" Lovina blinked when a voice called out to her, a female voice, Thick with some unknown accent, Lovina turned around, finding a woman maybe a year or so older than her jog towards her. "Ah, thanks, I'm a little lost and I need directions." The woman admitted sheepishly, scratching her cheek sheepishly with a slender, stubby-nailed finger.
She was just a hair taller than Lovina, slightly wavy dark brown hair tired back into a messy bun at the back of her neck, bright green eyes sparkling with a mixture of sheepishness and wonderment. She had a very definite farmer's tan, her exposed shoulders just barely showing signs of sunburn under the tanned skin. Her clothes were worn slightly, a short sleeved cotton top cut to rest comfortable over her shoulders, trousers just off just above the calf and a pair of very worn leather boots, finally there was what seemed to be a straw hat, the hem frayed from age, resting on her shoulder blades.
"Um… sure…" Lovina hedged, for a moment the childish term 'don't talk to strangers' rang in her mind, but she quickly shacked it away.
"Well, I was looking for a good place to set up shop for the day, but this is the first time I've been here so I kind of… got lost." The woman admitted, kicking the ground with the toe of her boot, giving Lovina a bright smile. How could anyone get lost in a place like this? Had she been wandering around in circles this entire time?
"The square's not to fair from here, just keep on going straight and you'll find it."
"Ah, duh," the woman said, slapping herself on the forehead. "I feel stupid now. Wait here for a second; I'll get something to thank you for you help. Just sit tight, okay?" And with that the woman dashed off, skidding around the corner the tailor was on. Lovina on the other hand, was considering whether or not she should listen to the stranger, she seemed a little… out there. (Had working out in the sun fried her brain?) It wasn't like Lovina needed to be anywhere, by this time the servant would be up and about, getting breakfast ready for the family, what difference did it make if she wasn't there at that time?
Soon after the strange woman had rushed off, the sound of coach wheels slowly rolling along the ground filled the air, blinking Lovina looked in the direction it was coming from. It wasn't a stage coach, it seemed to… sluggish. To casual. The answer to what was making the noise came before Lovina could fully wonder what it was when the tanned woman came back into view, walking casually besides a bull that was several inches taller than she was pulling a cart with an off-blue colored tarp covering it.
"Oh hey, you actually waited!" the woman called out, a smile lacing her voice as she leisurely walked over to the other girl. "I'm a farmer from the village ten miles to the west of here," she began, patting the beast's shoulder lovingly once the two had made a stop in front of Lovina. "This place has a lot more buildings than back home. A lot more… cramped, you know?" She explained, but Lovina was far to occupied with looking fearfully at the best before her. It easily stood six feet from shoulder to hoof and clearly had enough power to knock a fully grown man over with little to no effort. While its horns had been filled down to three inches with rounded tips, they looked no less intimidating. The brunette thanked the Lord above that she hadn't decided to wear red; otherwise she would have just been a stain on the street. "Hm? Ah, don't worry. Fuerza here is harmless, wouldn't hurt a fly!" The tanned woman said, giving the bull a loving pat on the space in between his horns. How anyone could call something at least seven inches taller than themselves and several times as heavy "harmless" was beyond Lovina.
"Wait a second," the hazel-eyed girl began, looking for anything to divert her attention from the bull. "You said you came from the village ten miles to the west from here?"
"Sure did. A little exercise never hurt anyone, right?" The woman asked, rounding the creature to stand next to the cart, undoing the knots of the ropes that held the tarp in place, than whipping off extravagantly. "Pick whatever you like," the woman said, waving a hand to the cart filled nearly to the brim with fresh produce.
Corn, lettuce, celery, wheat, barely, tomatoes, potatoes (no way in Hell Lovina would pick one of those), squash, eggplants, There were at least a dozen different kinds to choose from, all of them looking as fresh and crisp as anything from a conventional store.
Wordlessly Lovina picked the biggest, ripest-looking tomato she could see and bit into it, savoring the taste. She was never allowed to eat raw tomatoes at the manor; it was "unbecoming for a lady." The woman laughed at Lovina's enthusiasm, throwing the tarp back over the tarp.
"You really like tomatoes, huh? That's something we have in common!" she said gleefully, re-tying the ropes with skilled fingers. "That reminds me, I didn't get your name. I'm Anita Fernanda Carriedo, and you are?"
Lovina licked her fingers off tomato juice before answering, to hell with acting like a proper lady, this was the raw tomato she had in weeks and she was going to enjoy it, damn it!
"Lovina Vargas." Lovina answered, pausing briefly for air before taking another generous bite of her tomato.
"That's a pretty name~" Anita complimented with a nod of her head, "would you mind walking with me to the square? You can tell me about the town and what the people here are like."
"Are you always so cheery?" Lovina asked, licking her lips and sucking her fingers free of any juices.
"Being cheery helps the plants grow; at least I think it does."
"Just keep that bull the fuck away from me." The noblewoman requested, giving a wary look to the powerful creature before joining the other woman on her side, placing her safely one other body away from the animal. "You know there's a tailor with people inside you could have asked," Lovina began once the three began walking, Anita looking all around her, trying to memorize the buildings and the route they were taking, looking intently at everything that could be considered a landmark. She blinked when she realized that Lovina was looking intently at her, impatiently waiting for some sort of answer from the other female.
"It was closed," Anita replied with a light shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, the two girls inside seemed to be having a 'moment' and I didn't want to disturb them. It must be wonderful being in love like that~" the sun-kissed woman sighed out dreamily.
"You didn't mind that it was two women?"
"Should I have minded?" Anita blinked confusedly, raising one slender brow at the other girl. "They looked happy, that's all that matters when it comes to love. That's what my Mama always told me." She said with a nod of approval. Lovina took a moment to remind herself that this woman was a commoner; raised entirely differently from how she was, of course the romantic interactions between two women wouldn't bother her. Lovina's parents had scoffed at the concept of the same gender loving each other—perhaps that was why they disliked Maria. The older of the two Beilschmidt sisters didn't make it a secret about her preferences, in fact when she first met Lovina's parents her greeting had been: "My name is Maria, I'm awesome, and before you try and hook me up with some long-distance nephew or whatever know this: I am into women and only women."
What a way to greet a Duke and Duchess, Lovina sneered.
"So… what is this town like? Anything in particular I should know about?" Anita cut into Lovina's thoughts, looking at her with overly excited emerald green eyes.
"Not much…" Lovina began, "The most interesting thing we have is the port that some giant-guy comes to every-so-often for trade purposes. Can hardly understand a word he says…" The brunette trailed off, frowning slightly at the memory of when she literally ran into said stranger. Of course she wasn't going to mention that she had been scared shitless of the man who easily broke the six-foot mark and had the most frightening aqua-green eyes Lovina had ever seen; but she digressed.
"Is that really all?" Anita asked disappointment lacing her voice,
"If you want something interesting, go to the capitol," Lovina responded sarcastically, waving one hand absently in the direction of the city.
"Naaaah. A farm girl like me would probably get horribly lost." Anita said with a small click of her tongue. "Ah, here we are!" The brunette suddenly switched, actually striding a head to stand in the middle of the square. "This is a perfect place to set up!" she declared excitedly, spinning around fully in a circle. Before Lovina could properly scold the other woman for leaving her alone with a bull, Anita skipped back over to the younger girl and grasped her hand thankfully. At that simple action, Lovina felt her heart speed up just a bit and her face feel warmer; why? "Thanks for the help. You can stop by anytime you want, okay? But I won't guarantee any freebies, even if you are cute! I have to eat to, you know~" Anita said merrily, flashing a brilliant smile at the dark auburn haired youth before letting her hand go and guiding the bull into motion. "See you later," the tanned woman said, waving over her shoulder before turning back to her destination. Leaving poor Lovina standing in the middle of the road, her hand still raised and looking like some sort of very realistic statue.
"Yeah… whatever…" She mumbled under her breath, turning on her heel and walking back to the manner, trying to make her heart beat slow and the heat in her cheeks cool down. Absently she put a hand on her chest, feeling her life-providing organ beat rapidly under the skin.
Maria's words from the previous night rang in Lovina's head suddenly; the "advice" that concerned developing feelings for another girl. She scowled and shook her head to dispel the idea, to get the image of Maria's stupid grinning face out of her mind. Lovina liked men, thank you very much. And even if she did suddenly develop feelings towards other women, why would she develop them for that air-headed farm girl? It was an impossibility, she would never fall in love with Anita; even if she was homosexual.