Geez! I haven't updated for the longest time! I have been really uninspired
lately but, I am over it for good, I hope! (knock on wood! *hits fist on
head*) anyway, moving right along... because of so many people commenting
about my nameless country, I have finally decided to name it! * ahem* drum
roll please. The name is now ... Tallulah. I know that that is an odd name,
but too bad! I have added that to my other chapters, so if you want, reread
them. (There isn't much of a change though, I wouldn't suggest it unless if
you have forgotten the plot line.) Please review and tell me what you
think!!!!! Thankies!
Almost a month later
The excitement over their announcement had finally died down. Elizabeth and Gordo were able to just sit and enjoy each other's company for the first time for ages.
"How have you been lately?" Gordo asked while slowly stroking Elizabeth's outstretched hand with his thumb.
"I've been holding up pretty well, things have been--"
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Elizabeth jumped from the outburst. The loud town bell had rudely interrupted their conversation. The obnoxious noise rang through Gordo's ears and he could feel the vibrations within his bones. He couldn't help but shudder with the feeling inside of him.
"Well," he sighed and let go of his wife's hand, "I guess we better get going."
Groaning, Elizabeth stood up, smoothed out her skirt, and headed to the door. "Let's go."
The old bell had been part of the town for as long as anyone could remember. Since everyone lead so different lives, they needed a chance to come together and talk about any important news, problems or concerns they were having. Practically no one took it seriously though. It was basically old men bickering about children being too noisy or stolen vegetables from their gardens. Elizabeth hated it. In her opinion, there was nothing more wearisome then a town meeting. But what could she do? It was a mandatory event. The main reason for these surprise meetings was so government officials could go around and do random house checks while everyone was away. The motto was "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about."
Going down to the town hall was a very quiet trip for the couple. Aside from a few random comments on the weather and greeting other passers by, Elizabeth and Gordo spent the time in silence.
Coming over the bridge, they could hear the loud buzz of everyone gathered already. Elizabeth tried to catch onto a few of the conversations being held. There seemed to be nothing but chatter on what crops were growing, what ones weren't and how business was doing. How boring! Elizabeth was about to fall asleep when Jason Nommit's raspy voice caught her attention.
"I heard that the Bees are attacking us further north, that's probably what we are here for, maybe we are needed in battle."
"Gordo?" Elizabeth started, grasping onto his sleeve. In a tiny, worried voice that matched her expression completely, she began asking, "Do you think that--"
"No." he cut her off, knowing what she was about to say. "You know Jason, last year he said that there was a murderer on the loose, remember? That same year he also said that King Rafael's officials were stealing from houses they were doing random checks on. Both of those things weren't true, now were they?"
"No," Elizabeth replied, much more calm then she had been a minute ago. Giggling, she added, "He also said that there was a huge drought coming and that no one would live to tell about it."
"Exactly! You and I both now that he simply has too big of an imagination and a mouth to match it. His stories are nothing but an old man trying to get attention."
"You're right." Elizabeth sighed, her shoulders relaxing again. On the outside, she looked calm. But her insides were a whole different deal completely. She couldn't shake the feeling that Jason was right for a change. The truth was, he could be right. Unlike his other stories, this one actually held possibility behind it. The Reavies, or Bees as everyone called them, had been threatening war against Tallulah for six years now. The Reavies were known for their strong military and weren't afraid to use it. Over the course of twenty years, the Bees had fought, won and taken over thirteen of the surrounding countries. The people of Tallulah had feared for many years that they would be next. What if this time they were?
"May I have everyone's attention please? I repeat, may I have everyone's attention please?" One of the schoolteachers, Mr. Dig, was shouting from the makeshift stage, holding his hands up for silence. After gaining it, he cleared his throat and continued, "This meeting shall begin. First of all, are there any matters that you wish to discuss?"
Carol Bodent stood up and began, "Abe and Shannon can't seem to keep their cow out of my garden! I have put up with it as long as I could stand but I have had enough! That cow totally destroyed my cabbage patch! If they cant control it, I'll.. "
Elizabeth totally tuned out Carol's bickering and started playing with her fingers. This was truly a town meeting.
An hour later, after listening to random people complaining about property damage, too high sale prices and what not, the list of problems came to an end.
"Is there anyone else that wishes to speak? Anyone at all? No? Good! What I'm about to say wont be easy but um." Mr. Dig began. Looking down at his feet, he nervously rocked back and forth, "Um. well, you see."
"It's about the Bees, aint it?" Jason yelled, causing a murmur to run through the crowd.
"Silence please! Jason, I don't approve of your outburst, you know you are supposed to wait your turn." Mr. Dig said, wagging his finger at Jason. "Everyone, please let me speak!" He called, his voice shaking slightly. Even though no one complied with his request, Mr. Dig continued, "You and I both know that this awful day would come." Suddenly, with this said, the entire town was dead silent. "Mr. Nommit, you are correct, this is about the Bees. I regret to announce that ten days ago, they..uh..well.. they declared war against us." The crowd all gasped in unison but stayed silent, waiting for the teacher to continue. "We will try as hard as we can to ward off their attacks, but to do this, we will need more soldiers."
This time, the silence was broken by many upset cries of "No! You cant do that to us!" and "Please don't make then go!" and a few "What about our families?"
"People, people, let me finish!" Mr. Dig called, very worried that the town would all try to attack him. "Don't shoot the messenger! This isn't my fault! This isn't your fault either, but together, we can fight them. We can save our precious Tallulah but we first need soldiers. Men that we feel will be able to aid us will be receiving letters within the next couple of days. Upon receiving these letters, you will be immediately asked to go north, to the river Velsur, to get further instructions. There is no dodging these letters, Rafael's officers will make sure of it."
Gordo looked over at Elizabeth, who had a river of silent tears streaming down her face. They both knew that he was going to be summoned to war. Elizabeth quickly wiped a stray tear from the tip of her nose. She had trouble making out Mr. Dig's words over the cries of everyone around her, "Everyone can do their part, please include the war's speedy end in your prayers tonight. Please pray that our men will come home safe...."
Well? What did you think???? Please review! Thankies!
Almost a month later
The excitement over their announcement had finally died down. Elizabeth and Gordo were able to just sit and enjoy each other's company for the first time for ages.
"How have you been lately?" Gordo asked while slowly stroking Elizabeth's outstretched hand with his thumb.
"I've been holding up pretty well, things have been--"
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Elizabeth jumped from the outburst. The loud town bell had rudely interrupted their conversation. The obnoxious noise rang through Gordo's ears and he could feel the vibrations within his bones. He couldn't help but shudder with the feeling inside of him.
"Well," he sighed and let go of his wife's hand, "I guess we better get going."
Groaning, Elizabeth stood up, smoothed out her skirt, and headed to the door. "Let's go."
The old bell had been part of the town for as long as anyone could remember. Since everyone lead so different lives, they needed a chance to come together and talk about any important news, problems or concerns they were having. Practically no one took it seriously though. It was basically old men bickering about children being too noisy or stolen vegetables from their gardens. Elizabeth hated it. In her opinion, there was nothing more wearisome then a town meeting. But what could she do? It was a mandatory event. The main reason for these surprise meetings was so government officials could go around and do random house checks while everyone was away. The motto was "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about."
Going down to the town hall was a very quiet trip for the couple. Aside from a few random comments on the weather and greeting other passers by, Elizabeth and Gordo spent the time in silence.
Coming over the bridge, they could hear the loud buzz of everyone gathered already. Elizabeth tried to catch onto a few of the conversations being held. There seemed to be nothing but chatter on what crops were growing, what ones weren't and how business was doing. How boring! Elizabeth was about to fall asleep when Jason Nommit's raspy voice caught her attention.
"I heard that the Bees are attacking us further north, that's probably what we are here for, maybe we are needed in battle."
"Gordo?" Elizabeth started, grasping onto his sleeve. In a tiny, worried voice that matched her expression completely, she began asking, "Do you think that--"
"No." he cut her off, knowing what she was about to say. "You know Jason, last year he said that there was a murderer on the loose, remember? That same year he also said that King Rafael's officials were stealing from houses they were doing random checks on. Both of those things weren't true, now were they?"
"No," Elizabeth replied, much more calm then she had been a minute ago. Giggling, she added, "He also said that there was a huge drought coming and that no one would live to tell about it."
"Exactly! You and I both now that he simply has too big of an imagination and a mouth to match it. His stories are nothing but an old man trying to get attention."
"You're right." Elizabeth sighed, her shoulders relaxing again. On the outside, she looked calm. But her insides were a whole different deal completely. She couldn't shake the feeling that Jason was right for a change. The truth was, he could be right. Unlike his other stories, this one actually held possibility behind it. The Reavies, or Bees as everyone called them, had been threatening war against Tallulah for six years now. The Reavies were known for their strong military and weren't afraid to use it. Over the course of twenty years, the Bees had fought, won and taken over thirteen of the surrounding countries. The people of Tallulah had feared for many years that they would be next. What if this time they were?
"May I have everyone's attention please? I repeat, may I have everyone's attention please?" One of the schoolteachers, Mr. Dig, was shouting from the makeshift stage, holding his hands up for silence. After gaining it, he cleared his throat and continued, "This meeting shall begin. First of all, are there any matters that you wish to discuss?"
Carol Bodent stood up and began, "Abe and Shannon can't seem to keep their cow out of my garden! I have put up with it as long as I could stand but I have had enough! That cow totally destroyed my cabbage patch! If they cant control it, I'll.. "
Elizabeth totally tuned out Carol's bickering and started playing with her fingers. This was truly a town meeting.
An hour later, after listening to random people complaining about property damage, too high sale prices and what not, the list of problems came to an end.
"Is there anyone else that wishes to speak? Anyone at all? No? Good! What I'm about to say wont be easy but um." Mr. Dig began. Looking down at his feet, he nervously rocked back and forth, "Um. well, you see."
"It's about the Bees, aint it?" Jason yelled, causing a murmur to run through the crowd.
"Silence please! Jason, I don't approve of your outburst, you know you are supposed to wait your turn." Mr. Dig said, wagging his finger at Jason. "Everyone, please let me speak!" He called, his voice shaking slightly. Even though no one complied with his request, Mr. Dig continued, "You and I both know that this awful day would come." Suddenly, with this said, the entire town was dead silent. "Mr. Nommit, you are correct, this is about the Bees. I regret to announce that ten days ago, they..uh..well.. they declared war against us." The crowd all gasped in unison but stayed silent, waiting for the teacher to continue. "We will try as hard as we can to ward off their attacks, but to do this, we will need more soldiers."
This time, the silence was broken by many upset cries of "No! You cant do that to us!" and "Please don't make then go!" and a few "What about our families?"
"People, people, let me finish!" Mr. Dig called, very worried that the town would all try to attack him. "Don't shoot the messenger! This isn't my fault! This isn't your fault either, but together, we can fight them. We can save our precious Tallulah but we first need soldiers. Men that we feel will be able to aid us will be receiving letters within the next couple of days. Upon receiving these letters, you will be immediately asked to go north, to the river Velsur, to get further instructions. There is no dodging these letters, Rafael's officers will make sure of it."
Gordo looked over at Elizabeth, who had a river of silent tears streaming down her face. They both knew that he was going to be summoned to war. Elizabeth quickly wiped a stray tear from the tip of her nose. She had trouble making out Mr. Dig's words over the cries of everyone around her, "Everyone can do their part, please include the war's speedy end in your prayers tonight. Please pray that our men will come home safe...."
Well? What did you think???? Please review! Thankies!