A Note From Sun Queen: Hi people! Sorry it took so long to update, my inconsiderate teachers dumped a lot of work on me, so I was stuck writing a character analysis of Passe-Partout from Zone, a French play, instead of the adventures of Jaidru. But thank god for long weekends...the long awaited chapter seven. Enjoy, and please review on the way out!
Chapter 7: The Lady's New Clothes
"Ooh, look Jai. Is this henna?"
My nurse and I stood by a peddler's wagon in one of the outlying villages, a few miles from city. We'd left early that morning, pacifying my parents with the excuse that we were going to search for bridal adornments. After all, some of the little villages had goldsmiths who did exquisite work.
I don't think my mother believed me for a second. She just stared at me with slitted eyes, for what could you buy in a village that we didn't have in the Market? However, she let me go, providing Jai went with me.
But, this *was* the chance I'd been waiting for. I went to my chambers and shut the door, then hurriedly searched the room. This was probably my best opportunity for escape, so I wanted to give it my best shot. I dressed quickly in my smoke-blue walking gown, the one with the full skirts and the black and gold trim; this would be useful in smuggling everything I needed out of the city.
First, my sword, the one that Eowyn had left. I strapped it to my right thigh, with a pang as I thought of my friend, shifting it so walking wouldn't be over-difficult. It was still tricky, and I resolved to lose the dress as soon as I could. On my other thigh, I knotted my dagger, and a pair of little stiletto blades, slender and very sharp in their smooth leather sheaths. That done, I dropped my skirts, and hurried to my bed.
Under the feather mattress, my little stash glowed. Coins I'd been hoarding for years, adding more whenever I could find or steal them. Perhaps twenty gold, a dozen or so of silver, and the odd bronze piece; enough to buy food and lodging for a few weeks, at least. These I stuffed into the bosom of my gown, wrapping them in linen so they wouldn't clank and reveal themselves.
That being done, I turned, and stared at my reflection in the full-length gilt glass. This was perhaps the most valuable thing I owned, a gift from my parents on my last birthday. Polished silver, smooth as a millpond, with a framed of oiled blond wood, it showed my reflection in utter clarity. The curves of my hips and breasts, a little too thick, shoulders a little too broad, jaw a bit too square, a face that was too wide, ashy blond waves that hung down my back to below my hips.
I stared at myself in the glass, mesmerized. But for mere trifles, I might have been a real beauty. Then I began to wonder; if I had been beautiful, the apple of my parents eye, a true jewel of the Court...if people watched me walk past in awe, if Boromir stood mesmerized by me, if I had been the angel of Minas Tirith that Beth had been...would I be running away right now?
I didn't know, and I didn't care. I turned my back on my looking-glass, my chambers, my life, and walked out the door without looking back.
**********
So I stood by the peddler's wagon with Jai, fingering the earthy shades of kohl, the soft russet of the henna. Jai stood watching me, her old gray eyes narrowed. Good old Jai, she didn't miss a trick.
"You're leaving, aren't you?" she asked, not accusingly, but as though she was making idle conversation.
I didn't see any point in denying it. Jai was old, but age hadn't diminished her mind. She reached over, and paid for the dyes I'd selected. The little village market was busy on this early summer's morning, but she pulled me to a secluded corner, where none would hear us speaking.
I can still see Jai on that gorgeous summer morning, a disapproving scowl on her old, wrinkled face, her frizzy gray hair pulled into a tight roll on the back of her head, her sensible green gown hanging neatly to her ankles. She had glared at me, and I finally spoke.
"How did you know?"
"Hmph!" she snorted. "When a young lady starts to look at paints and dyes, she's either trying to improve her appearance, or disguise herself. In your case, I guessed disguise."
My mouth had dropped open, so Jai continued. "And let me say, young Drusilla, you're not running away properly at all."
"Why do you say that?" I asked, running my hands over me walking skirt.
"Well," she replied, handing me my cosmetics, "You won't be able to walk very far in that dress; and those shoes!" She scowled at my footwear, delicate little slippers peeking out from under my skirts.
"So what do we do?"
"We go shopping."
**********
It was near evening when I stood beside Jai on the road, holding her old hands in mine. I felt like a new person, and I knew, at that moment, that Drusilla Teegana was gone forever, and in her place, someone new stood.
A pale linen undershirt was covered by a mail shirt that hung to my hips. Over that, I wore a tunic of russet-coloured leather. A double-stranded black belt encircled my waist, my sword sheathed on one hip, and my dagger on the other. With dark leggings, and heavy boots, (into which I jammed the stilettos knives), I looked like a soldier, except for some, uh, rather obvious attributes. Jai and I had discussed trying to conceal them, but we'd concluded that I would only look like a woman disguised as a man. That would arouse more suspicion. The clothing was all second-hand, naturally, bought from an outfitter's shop. The mail, the tunic, the boots, were all worn, but still serviceable. I'd never realized Jai was such a skilled negotiator.
Then, we'd set to work on my face.
My eyelids were heavily lined, over and under, with dark, smoky kohl. My once-long curls had been chopped off just past the line of my jaw, and ash blond had turned amber red, courtesy of the henna.
Jai thought I looked either like a warrior-woman, wild and frightening beyond imagination, or a harlot. She couldn't decide which.
So I stood beside her on the road, watching the sun start to set in the west. She squeezed my hand.
"You will make sure to buy a cloak when the weather turns cold?" she asked anxiously.
"Yes, Jai." I smiled at her, my eyes much darker and forbidding than they had been this morning.
"And make sure you eat a good meal everyday."
"Yes, Jai."
"And watch out for Gondorian soldiers. Your parents will certainly send them out looking for you."
"Yes, Jai."
"And by all the stars in heaven, watch out for Orcs. The world is getting dangerous, and there are dark things everywhere. Watch your back."
"I will, don't fret. What will *you* do, Jai?" I was worried about my old nurse suddenly. If my parents learned she had a hand in my escape, I didn't want to think about what might befall her.
"Oh, wisha, wisha, don't worry yourself, maid. I have friends who can look after me, far away from the White City. I can disappear."
I kissed my Jai's cheek, and embraced her hard, choking back a sob. She patted my back soothingly, and looked me in the eye. "Don't cry, love. You'll smudge your eyes. And don't look back. Go West." And with that, she started down the road, back towards the village.
The sun had almost fallen below the horizon when I finally stirred. I set my pack of food and my bedroll down, and I took out the blue walking-dress that I'd worn that morning. I took what was left of the henna-powder, and scrubbed it hard into the material, rubbing until the dress was covered in brown stains. Then, I took my dagger, spat on the blade, and slashed long, jagged tears through the stains. I then set to work stuffing the remnants of the garment under a fallen log just off the road, carefully leaving the hem visible. If all went well, any soldiers would find this 'bloodstained' dress, but no Drusilla Teegana. She, for all intents and purposes, died that day.
And Jaidru was born.
Good riddance.
To be Continued...Review, please! Feed the Plotbunnies!