Here's the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dogtanian. Not at all!
Now, let's resume our story!
Welcome to Paris, the Dream City!
For the next three weeks, Gavin and Dogtania walked the dirt roads towards Paris, occasionally hitching a ride on a farmer's cart if they were willing. Sometimes, rain would fall, making the dirt roads very muddy, and Gavin would carry Dogtania on his shoulders as he walked through the mud, as he didn't want her to fall in it or get stuck.
Currently, they were walking on a somewhat muddy road, with Dogtania carrying her saddle in her arms behind her, while Gavin walked next to her, hood up in case someone passed by them
"I had no idea *pant* that the road to Paris *pant* was gonna be this long," She said as they walked, slightly worn out.
"Neither did I," Gavin replied, sounding a bit worn out as well.
"This saddle gets heavier with every *pant* step I take," She continued, prompting Gavin to reach over and grab it, before carrying it in front of him.
"Better?" He asked her.
"Yeah, much better," She replied with a smile. "Thanks Gavin."
"You're welcome Dogtania," He said with a nod, before they started to hear the sound of hooves coming from behind them.
"Hey, what's that?" Dogtania said as she looked behind them as they walked on the side of the road. "Oh, it's the first traffic we've seen all day," She continued upon seeing a coach heading towards them.
"Huh, I wonder where they're going?" Gavin questioned with curiosity as they walked, keeping his eyes ahead so he wouldn't trip.
"Who knows," Dogtania replied with a shrug.
As they reached a very large puddle of rainwater in the road and started to pass it, the horses and carriage ran through the puddle, splashing water all over Gavin, with Dogtania escaping the splash due to Gavin being between her and the puddle.
Gavin shivered as the cold water soaked his cloak and his shirt, before he let out a sneeze. "Ugh, how rude," he said as he looked at the coach, whose driver, an old gray male terrier, was now looking back at them.
"This is an outrage!" Dogtania shouted with a frown as she looked at the carriage. "That fool soaked you to the skin!" She then took off after the carriage, causing Gavin to groan before he hurried after her.
"Dogtania, wait!" He called out to her as he ran. "It's not that big a deal."
"It most certainly is!" Dogtania said before she caught up to the coach, which wasn't going very fast. "You! Driver! Stop this coach at once! Have you no manners!" She said to the driver, prompting him to slow the coach to a stop. "It is customary to show some respect to a gentleman!" She continued as Gavin caught up to her, huffing a little.
"You look more like a kid from the country to me! And your friend here looks shady," The old driver replied. "You'd do well to watch where you're going."
"Hmm, you dare to insult a gentleman and lady, you peasant!" She yelled, furious that he'd insult her friend Gavin like that.
"'A gentleman and a lady?' Bahahahaha!" The old man laughed and laughed at that, which made Dogtania angrier, while Gavin sighed, before shivering a bit from the cold water. "I've seen many a gentleman and lady in my day but believe me you look like a court jester! And your friend as a thief!"
"I assure you sir, I am no thief," Gavin replied with a frown.
"Hmph! So you say," The man replied. "Now get out of my way! I have urgent business to attend to, and you waste my time with your delusions of grandeur!"
"You cur!" Dogtanian swore with anger as she reached for her broken sword hilt, which made Gavin's eyes widen. "You will regret those words for the rest of your life!" She then growled with anger.
"You're squandering my time with another joke!" The driver said with some disappointment. "Move on!"
Dogtania growled even more at that. "Curse you! Apologize, or fight me!" She replied as she pulled out her broken sword, momentarily forgetting it was broken, while Gavin sighed.
'Dogtania, you really need to learn to control that temper of yours,' He thought as he shook his head. 'It's going to get you into serious trouble someday.'
"Eh? What?" The driver said with surprise and confusion, before he started to laugh even harder and harder.
"Huh?" Dogtania said until she looked at her blade and remembered it was broken, before blushing with embarrassment and frowning as she lowered her broken blade.
Then, another voice spoke, coming from inside the coach.
"What's wrong?" A young, gentle female voice said.
"Huh?" The driver said as he turned his head around to look at the side of the coach, before the door opened and a young lady stepped out.
Upon seeing the lady, Gavin gulped and started to blush, thankful he had on his hood. 'Oh my! She's very pretty!' He thought as he looked at her. 'Almost as pretty as that cat lady I saw last night.'
The young lady appeared to be around 18 years old and stood 5 foot 4 inches tall. She was a beautiful Spaniel, with fair yellow fur covering what he could see of her body, long golden blonde hair on her head that reached just past her shoulders and covered her ears, a slender and small snout tipped with a light brown nose, lovely reddish-brown eyes, and a quite large chest. She was wearing a rose-pink dress that had white ruffles around her neck and at the cuffs on her sleeves, which ended a little bit past her elbows. Her dress was quite large, with the skirt going all the way down to her feet, hiding them from sight. A small dark red belt wrapped around her rather skinny waist, and a line of white ran down the front and middle of her dress.
"Oh, um, nothing madame," he said to her quickly, before a slight gust of wind came and blew past them, making him shiver and causing a drop of water to drip from his hood, which caught her attention. "We were just on our way, right Dogtania?" He continued as he turned to look at Dogtania, who was putting away her blade.
Before Dogtania could respond though, the lady spoke up. "I can see it is most certainly not nothing," She said as she took another step forward. "You look like you could use a little help." She then curtsied. "I apologize for my coachmen. Now, what's this quarreling about?"
"Your coachmen here soaked my friend Gavin here to the skin," Dogtania replied, while Gavin shivered involuntarily. "And he's refused to apologize. On top of that, he called him a thief."
"Oh my," the lady said, before she turned to the coachmen. "Is this true monsieur?"
"It is madame," The old man replied with a nod, before gesturing to Gavin. "But look at him! He clearly looks like a thief, walking around with a black cloak on and covering his head."
"I see," The lady said, before turning to Gavin. "Sir, could you please remove your hood. I wish to gaze at your face."
"Madame, I don't know if that is a good idea," Gavin replied, feeling a bit nervous. "I am not exactly the best thing to look at."
"Please monsieur," The lady asked him politely.
After several seconds had passed, he sighed. "As you wish, madame," he replied, before he set the saddle down, reached up to his hood with gloved hands, and gripped it. He then slowly pulled his hood back and let it fall to his shoulders, revealing his face, which had some small spots of mud on it from the water the coach had splashed on him earlier.
"Oh my," the lady said with surprise upon seeing his face, with the old driver gaining a shocked look on his face.
"If my face displeases you, I can put my hood back on, madame," Gavin said to her politely.
"Yes, please do!" The old driver said.
"No, leave it down," The lady replied, surprising everyone else. She then looked into his eyes, and after several seconds had passed, smiled, before she reached up to the ruffle around her neck and grabbed a small pink handkerchief that had some roses on it.
'She's not scared of me,' He thought with surprise, with Dogtania and the old driver having similar thoughts. 'Not at all.' She then reached up and gently started to wipe the mud off his face, surprising him more.
"There monsieur," She said with a smile as she finished wiping off the mud off his face. "That's better."
"Um, th-thank you," Gavin replied, before she started to wipe off the mud spots on his cloak. "Oh no, there's no need to do that," He continued. "It's nothing really."
"You're covered in mud from head to foot. It's the least I can do for you," She replied as she managed to rub off some of the mud on his shoulders, before she moved down a bit.
"Well thank you," he said, before he reached out and gently took the handkerchief from her, before he used it to rub the mud off his left glove. "But I can do the rest. I don't want you to be wasting your time because of me."
"Oh please, it was my coachmen's fault," The lady replied. "You must allow me to do something."
"I won't hear of it," Gavin said to her, smiling a bit. "It's completely unnecessary."
"Please, don't be offended. I only want to make amends for the inconvenience that we caused you."
"Well, there is one thing," Gavin replied. "Could you kindly tell us how much farther we have to Paris? My friend and I have been traveling for weeks to reach it."
At that, the lady started to giggle, confusing him and Dogtania.
"What? What's so funny?" Gavin asked the lady.
"You're in the outskirts of Paris now, monsieur," The old driver said to them.
"Wait, we are?" Gavin said with surprise, prompting the lady to nod.
"That's right. You can see the city from here!" The lady continued as she looked ahead of them, prompting the two travelers to look ahead as well.
"Wow!" Gavin and Dogtania said with awe as they saw a large city with many beautiful buildings off in the distance.
They were in awe. Finally, the city of their dreams was in their sights!
As they looked at the city, the sun came out from behind the clouds, changing the gloomy atmosphere to one much more cheerful.
"Paris! At last, we made it!" Dogtania said as she ran over to a nearby tree and looked at the city again. "Oh, it's beautiful! It's-It's…wonderful!"
"Indeed it is," Gavin said as he walked over to her with a nod. "It is quite beautiful." 'At least, for a 1600s city,' He thought to himself, knowing that the Paris he had seen pictures of before looked beautiful as well.
"Oh, I feel like our lives are just beginning!" Dogtania replied as she looked out at the city, with Gavin nodding in agreement, feeling the same way.
"Excuse me," The lady said as she walked over to them, causing them to turn around and look at her. "If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to Paris?" She asked, looking at Gavin as she did so.
"We have come to serve His Majesty, the King!" Dogtania said proudly. "But not as his personal servants. No, we have come to serve him in the corps of guardsmen under the command of Monsieur Treville!"
"So you came to become muskehounds?" She asked them.
"Yes, madame, we did," Gavin replied, before he looked out on the city again and let out a sigh. "I just hope Monsieur Treville accepts us as guardsmen."
"Oh, of course he will!" Dogtania said to Gavin encouragingly. "At least, I certainly hope he will." She then turned to the lady. "Now, if you will excuse us, we must be on our way," She said as she grabbed Gavin by the hand and dragged him off to get the saddle, surprising him.
"Worry not coachman! I forgive you for your indiscretion!" She said as they passed by the driver, who nodded.
"Same to you, peasant!" The man called back with a small frown.
"Madame! Your handkerchief!" Gavin called out to the lady as he held it up, having remembered he was still holding it. "I forgot to return it!"
"Keep it!" The lady said as she stepped into her coach with a smile. "I hope we meet again!" And with that, she shut the door and the coach was off, leaving them behind.
As they watched the coach quickly leave them, Gavin looked at the handkerchief in his hands, and then smiled, before he put it in his shirt. "Ah, such a sweet gift from a lovely lady," He said as he turned to the saddle and picked it up, but not before putting on his hood again. "Ready to go Dogtania?"
"I am," She replied, before the two started walking to the city. 'Great, another girl is interested in Gavin,' She thought to herself as they walked. 'I hope I can confess my feelings to him before she does. I'd like to be the head of the pack thank you very much!' At that, an image of him kissing her and holding her in his arms while sitting on a large bed surrounded by other beautiful women popped up in her head, making her blush a bit.
Fortunately, Gavin missed the blush, as he was focused on the road again, not wanting to trip over and hurt himself.
Several minutes later…
'Paris is even bigger than I thought it was!' Dogtania thought, surprised at the size of the city, while Gavin wasn't that surprised, although he made sure to act like he was. 'I've never seen so many people!'
As they walked through the streets of Paris, some people stared at the cloaked figure next to her, curious about who they were. Others ignored them, too busy with their own things to be curious.
They continued to walk through the streets for several minutes, before they came across a white-bricked, orange roofed guard station, with a somewhat skinny male bulldog standing to one side, facing another guard station across from it, with a large set of iron gates opened up behind them. The bulldog was wearing gray boots, red pants, a metal morion (helmet) on his head, a red long sleeve shirt underneath a blue sleeveless one, a black belt that had a sword on his left hip, and yellow gloves. He was also holding a large spear in his right hand, pointing straight up.
As they approached, the bulldog spoke to them in a gruff male voice. "Identify yourself. Now," He said, prompting them to stop in place.
"Is this the barracks of His Majesties Royal Guardsmen?" Dogtania asked him.
"Yes, but errand boys and girls use the rear entrance."
"Huh?" Gavin and Dogtania said with confusion and shock. "Errand boy/girl?"
"Haven't you come by to deliver that saddle?"
"This saddle belongs to my friend here," Gavin replied.
"Alright, then why have you come here?"
"To speak with Monsieur Treville," Dogtania replied, surprising the bulldog.
"With Captain Treville? Do you have an appointment?"
"No, not exactly," Dogtania replied with a shake of her head. "But it is very important, and we must speak with him immediately!"
"Ah, but no one sees him without an appointment," The bulldog replied with a shake of his head, before gesturing to the courtyard beyond the gates. "You can see for yourself how many candidates are fighting for an opportunity to see him. Why, half the young men and a couple women in France are hoping to become muskehounds."
In the courtyard, several other people, some their age, and others older than them, were fighting with each other. Beyond them was a massive white-brick building that had an orangish red roof, while a couple smaller building sat on the sides with the same color scheme.
"You mean, none of those fellows are actually muskehounds?" Dogtania asked the man.
"No, but each of them hopes to win that honor. Take a good look at them. They are your competition. The one who wins overall will have the honor of speaking with the captain."
"Well then, this is going to be interesting," Gavin muttered to himself as he stared at them
"And if he or she has a bit of luck and improves their worth, they may get to be a muskehound someday."
"Yeah?" Dogtania said as she stared at them some more.
"I will let you both in on one condition. Compete with those fellows, and you may speak to the captain."
"Alright, that sounds fair," Gavin said to the man.
"But not right now, okay?" Dogtania continued as she grabbed Gavin's arm and started to pull him away.
"You mean you're afraid?"
"Certainly not sir!" The two replied immediately.
"I do not fear sword fighting!" Gavin said firmly.
"And nothing frightens me!" Dogtania said, before she pulled Gavin away, while the bulldog hummed at that.
As the two walked away, she spoke to Gavin. "Alright, so first thing we need to do is buy ourselves a proper sword," She said.
"Okay," he said, before he spotted a building nearby. "Hey! There's a weapon's shop!"
"Perfect!" She said, before she hurried over to the shop to have a look, with Gavin heading after her.
He almost started to offer to pay to buy her a sword, as he still had a bag full of money, but he paused, as he remembered a conversation they had had out on the road after the incident at the inn.
She had told him that she didn't want him to spend any money on her new sword. She would take care of it. He had, of course, protested, but eventually gave up when he soon realized that she wasn't going to take "NO" for an answer.
'Oh, I hope the shopkeeper doesn't throw her out after learning she has no money,' He thought as he followed her.
"You need a weapon madame?" The owner of the shop, a 29-year-old male red fox with a small set of pince-nez glasses, said to her, prompting her to nod as Gavin arrived.
"Yes, me and my friend both do," She replied, while the shopkeeper looked at Gavin with interest. "We need nice and sturdy swords."
'My, how interesting. He's completely covered up!' The red fox thought as he stared at Gavin for a few more seconds, before he spoke again. "Well, madame and monsieur, you've come to the right place," he said. "Please! Please come in!"
"Thank you, sir," The two replied before they went inside, looking around with interest as they did so.
"This is fantastic!" Dogtania said happily as she looked around at the various weapons the store held, some leaning against the wall, while others hung on the wall from hooks. "I've never seen such a fine array of swords!"
"Neither have I," Gavin replied, nodding in agreement as he looked at the swords, which were located on one wall and in one corner of the shop.
"Allow me to help you decide which one of these swords you'd like to buy," The fox said.
"We don't just want anything. We want one worthy of muskehounds!" Dogtania said to the man, who nodded.
"I understand," The fox replied, before he turned to look at the various swords, while Gavin set the saddle down behind him near the door. After looking for several seconds, the fox picked out a nice sword with a bronze hilt and handed it to her. "Here you go madame."
"Oh, this is wonderful!" She said as she looked at the sword, before she pulled it out of its scabbard. "Magnificent!"
"Why, thank you madame," The man replied.
"I'll take it. How much do you want for it?" Dogtania asked.
'Here it comes,' Gavin thought as he closed his eyes. 'A sword like that's gotta be pretty expensive, much more than the couple of coins she found on the road.'
"For you, the price is just two hundred Louis," The man replied.
'I knew it!' Gavin thought as he winced upon hearing the large sum, while Dogtania gasped with shock.
"That's frightfully expensive," She replied as she sheathed the sword.
"I'll show you another one then," The man said as he took the sword and switched it out for another. "This sword is truly stupendous!" he said as he pulled out a bronze hilted sword with a blue scabbard. "It almost seems to have been made for you."
'Oh sure, butter her up!' Gavin thought with a roll of his eyes as he watched Dogtania look at it.
"How much is it?" She asked the man.
"Only 80 Louis," The shopkeeper replied.
"Too much!" She replied, surprising the shopkeeper.
"Well then, which sword do you want?" The shopkeeper asked her.
"The one that's worth 200 Louis."
"Then why didn't you pick that one?"
"Because sadly, I don't even have 3 Louis to my name," She replied, surprising the shopkeeper.
"What?! Well then, why are you wasting my time?!" The shopkeeper said as he set the sword to the side. "Oh, this is deplorable! Perhaps you thought I was giving swords away?"
"No, I have money," She said before she pulled out a bag she had found on the road a couple weeks ago, completely empty. She then turned it over and dumped out the few coins she did have, which was one Louis and a few sols. "It's just that this is all that I've got," She continued as she held out the money to the man, who frowned upon seeing the pitiful amount.
"Too bad. Then you can't afford a sword," The shopkeeper said.
'And neither can I,' Gavin thought, remembering he only had about 10 Louis and many, many sols, which was what the bag of money had contained when he'd first gotten it.
"Ah! But we must have a sword to become muskehounds!" Dogtania said. "Please, help us out!" She continued as she begged the man, who then realized that her companion also didn't have enough money for a sword.
"Will you trade that saddle?" The man asked her, having noticed it earlier.
"No, absolutely not!" Dogtania replied with a shake of her head. "That saddle was a present from my father! I couldn't!" Then, she got an idea. "But if you give us swords, we can work for it, okay?" She said to the man.
"What kind of work can you do?" The man asked the two.
"Anything monsieur," Gavin said to the man.
"Oh, you'll never regret it, I assure you!" Dogtania added.
"Hmm, the both of you will work hard?" The man asked them, prompting them to nod.
"We swear by our…swords," The two said with embarrassment as they whipped out their blades, having momentarily forgotten that they had come to this shop specifically because their blades were broken.
"Hm! Never mind," The man said as they put their blades away. "I can see now why you are both so desperate for a sword. You have an honest face," He continued as he looked at Dogtania. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Alright, I'll let you work for it."
"Great! When do we start?" Dogtania asked the man.
"These are the terms that I propose," The man replied. "After all, I'm not in this business for my health, but to make money."
"Mhm!"
"First, give me what you have," The man said, prompting the two to nod before they pulled out their bags of money and handed them to him. "Then, you can trade in your old swords for one Louis each." The two then handed him their blades and scabbards. "Now then, if you are both willing to work very hard and do exactly as I tell you, you'll get a sword worth 5 Louis."
"Um, I don't see any swords priced at 5 Louis," Dogtania replied, before the man gestured to a box of swords nearby.
"That's because I keep them in the back," The shopkeeper said. "You may choose any one of these that you like."
"Hmm, I think I'll take a closer look, okay?" Dogtania said as she walked over to look at the swords.
"Be my guest. They're all magnificent."
"Yeck!" Dogtania said after a couple seconds as she looked at the swords in the box. "None of these are worthy of a muskehound."
"You've yet to prove that you're worthy to be a muskehound," The man replied before he started to walk away. "Now follow me."
As they did so, Gavin grabbed the saddle so they wouldn't lose it and followed him to the backyard, which was large and open.
Soon, they found themselves set up to do various jobs, with Gavin told to cut several logs and a couple stumps that sat nearby into firewood, and Dogtania given the job of sharpening old blades.
"What a shame," Dogtania said as she picked up a large dagger covered in rust and dulled quite badly, before she started to run it against the whetstone, which had a tub of water sitting next to it, while she was wearing an apron to protect her clothes. "No matter. I'll restore you to your former glory."
Meanwhile, Gavin had taken off his hood and cloak, as he didn't want it to get in the way while he was chopping wood. The shopkeeper had been astounded upon seeing Gavin's odd face, and had become even more intrigued upon seeing his necklace, but had ultimately left the two to work, while he went back to the shop.
As Gavin swung the axe into a hard stump, he opened his mouth, and started to sing, a song having popped up in his head.
"Oak logs will warm you well
That are old and dry
Logs of pine will sweetly smell
But the sparks will fly
Birchs long will burn too fast
Chestnut scarce at all sir
Hawthorn logs are good to last
That are cut well in the fall sir."
"Huh, what an interesting song," Dogtania said to herself as she worked on the blades, putting the sharpened and cleaned ones on her right as she worked, humming along with Gavin's singing, while he swung the axe hard and fast, soon splitting the stump apart. "I've never heard him sing it before," She continued as he swung his axe into the stump again while he continued to sing, splitting it apart again.
"Surely you will find
There's no compare with the hard wood logs
That's cut in the winter time.
"Holly logs will burn like wax
You could burn them green
Elm logs burn like smouldering flax
With no flame to be seen
Beech logs for winter time
Yew logs as well sir
Green elder logs it is a crime
For any man to sell sir."
As he finished up the first stump and moved on to the logs, a familiar coach started to approach them from a nearby bridge. Inside, the young lady from earlier sat by the window, looking out at the city with a smile. Then, she heard a male voice singing, and sat up. "Huh?" She said as she looked towards the source of the singing. "Unless I'm mistaken, that's the gentleman I met on the road earlier," She continued as she spotted Gavin chopping wood with his cloak off while singing. "And that's his companion," She continued upon seeing Dogtania hard at work at the whetstone. "I wonder what they're doing here?" She questioned as she looked back at Gavin. 'I thought they were on their way to become a muskehound, but they're working as common laborers.'
"Surely you will find
There's no compare with the hard wood logs
That's cut in the winter time.
Pear logs and apple logs
They will scent your room
and cherry logs across the dogs
They smell like flowers of broom
But ash logs smooth and grey
Buy them green or old, sir
and buy up all that come your way
They're worth their weight in gold sir."
As Gavin finished singing the slow song, he swung his axe once more, and split the last stump into quarters, before he set the axe down with a sigh of relief, while Dogtania finished her work with the blades.
Then, the shopkeeper approached, having been watching them work ever since Gavin had started singing. "Hmm, you've both done very good with your jobs," The man said as he looked at the sharp and clean blades and the cut wood, which Gavin was currently stacking for the man. "I'd say you've earned your swords."
"Wonderful!" Gavin said as he walked over to them, holding the axe carefully in his hands, while Dogtania took off the apron, before they followed the man back inside.
"We must choose carefully," Gavin muttered as they went over to the box of swords and examined them closely, with him putting on his cloak as they did so. "This is a very important decision," he continued, with Dogtania nodding in agreement.
After a few minutes, the man spoke. "Have you two decided which ones you like best?" He asked them, causing them to nod.
"Yes, these two don't look too bad," Gavin said as he and Dogtania held up the swords they'd chosen, which were small, had gray hilts, and mostly straight blades.
"They're both made of pure steel," The man replied.
"Hmmm, I think we better try them before we take them," She replied, before she walked over to a nearby set of trees that had some slash marks on them, showing they were used for testing the sharpness of blades. Gavin and the man followed her over, before she and Gavin started to do several slashes and thrusts in the air with their swords.
'Hmmm, not bad,' Gavin thought as he slashed the air, before he gently stabbed the tree. 'Never mind,' He continued when the blade bent a little, before he pulled it out, with Dogtania's sword doing the same thing as well. "'Pure steel' you say?" He said as he looked at his slightly bent blade. "It looks more like it's made of tin."
"No problem! Here," The man said as he took their swords and bent them back into shape with some effort. "These swords should last you the rest of your lives," He continued as he handed them b ack their swords, which they then put into their scabbards with a bit of difficulty.
"Well, no one lives forever," Dogtania said with a shrug.
"Goodbye sir, and thank you," Gavin said to the man as he picked up the saddle and started to walk away with Dogtania.
"Goodbye monsieur and madame!" The man replied as they left. 'Hmm, I wonder if that's the last I will see of them?' He thought to himself.
Several minutes later…
The two exited the top of a tower of the beautiful Notre Dame cathedral, and gasped as they looked at the sprawling city of Paris around and below them.
"Wow, what a city!" Dogtania said with shock and awe as she looked down at the houses. "Wow!"
"Indeed," Gavin added as he looked at the city as well, taking his hood off for a better look. "It's beautiful."
The two continued to stare at the city for a few more minutes, with the bells of the cathedral ringing as they looked.
Meanwhile, back at the weapons shop they had been at earlier, the young lady from before had gone inside.
"Good afternoon, may I assist you mademoiselle?" The shopkeeper asked her.
"Yes. I wish to speak with the young gentleman and lady who works for you."
"You mean the likable young country girl and her friend who just arrived in Paris?" The man asked her, prompting her to nod.
"Yes! Those are the two I wish to speak with!"
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, mademoiselle, but they're no longer in my employ. They only stayed long enough to pay for two swords," The shopkeeper replied, disappointing her a bit.
"Did they happen to mention where they were going?"
"No, I'm afraid they didn't say," The shopkeeper replied. "But they can't have gone to far. They spent their last Louis on the swords."
At that, her eyes widened a bit. "Poor fellows!" She said, prompting the man to nod.
"Poor indeed," The shopkeeper replied. "They came to me with the intention of buying two swords. I showed them quite a few, but since they had no money, we made an agreement. Whereby, they would work for me in exchange for two. They took one of those over there," He said as he pointed to the box of swords near a grated window. "The cheapest swords I make, though really not very good as you can see."
"Oh my!" The lady said as she walked over to the box of swords and looked at them. "Those look very bad indeed!" She continued as she pulled one out, showing the metal was somewhat warped and uneven. "Not one of these swords is a suitable weapon for a gentleman and lady, monsieur."
"Y-You must consider the price," The shopkeeper replied as he realized what she was going to do.
"Even so," The lady said as she looked at the box of swords for a few more seconds, before looking back at him. "Haven't you any swords of real quality? The price doesn't matter to me."
"Of course I do!" The shopkeeper replied with slight indignation as he ran over to another box and started to look through them.
Sometime later…
"If I don't get something to eat soon, I'm going to starve to death," Dogtania groaned as they walked through the emptying streets, while dusk quickly set on the city.
"I know Dogtania," he replied with a sigh as they walked, having been turned away from another inn due to having no money. "I know. I'm hungry too."
Soon, the two decided to sleep under a lonely tree near an old, worn-down shed, and sat down with their things. They were just starting to relax when they noticed a group of about 5 or 6 people was approaching them, a couple holding thick wooden sticks in their hands.
"Can I help you?" Gavin asked them when they stopped a few feet in front of them.
"What do you want?" Dogtania added when they started to chuckle a bit.
"Who are you and what're your names?" One of the people, a male pig with black fur, asked them.
"My name, monsieur, is Gavin, and this is my friend Dogtania," Gavin replied. "We're just staying here for the night."
"That's tough," The pig said sarcastically as he pointed his stick at them. "You weren't invited. We don't like strangers in our part of town! So get out!"
"Hold it! Why can't we spend one night here, huh? Tell me!" Dogtania growled back as she stood up, getting a bit mad.
"Because I said so," The pig replied.
"Who are you to be giving us orders?!" Dogtania said to them with a frown. "We've decided to spend the night here, and we don't intend to move just because some big bully doesn't like it!" She continued, with Gavin nodding in agreement.
"So, you won't budge? We'll see about that," The pig said. "Come on gang! Let's teach these two a lesson!"
"What have we done to deserve this?" Gavin asked as he stood up and grabbed the stick the pig had swung at them, blocking him.
"Hmph!" The pig huffed, before a male rabbit swung his stick at Gavin from the side, prompting him to grab it and yank it from his grip.
"Hey!" the rabbit said with a frown. "That's not fair!"
"Neither is attacking two innocent people who just wanted to sleep," Gavin replied as he swung the stick and knocked the rabbit on the head. He then blocked another swing from the pig, while Dogtania had pulled out her sword to fight.
Unfortunately, the sword was so cheap that one good whack from someone bent it quite a bit, and soon she had been smacked on the head so many times that she was very dizzy and wobbling about, while her sword looked quite dented. Then, one more gang member hit her hard on the head, making her fall backwards and drop the sword.
"Dogtania!" Gavin said with worry as he fought the pig, a couple knots on his head as well.
"Stop fighting, or else we'll hurt her more," The pig growled at him, while one of the gang members raised their stick high into the air above Dogtania's head.
"Grrrrrr! Alright," He said as he lowered his stick. "Now let us-"
*Wham! Wham! Wham!*
"Ooooohh," Gavin groaned as several heavy whacks hit his head, becoming dizzy and starry-eyed before he fell over next to Dogtanian.
"So, that does it," The pig said as his gang surrounded them. "Pretty spunky people. Get them outta here! Now!"
"Right boss!" The gang replied before they moved forward to pick them up.
A few minutes later, Gavin and Dogtania were unceremoniously dumped in the street, with them groaning with pain as their bodies hit the ground.
"She was a fool to fight us with such a ridiculous weapon like this!" The pig said as he tossed Dogtania's sword next to her, before the gang tossed her saddle onto Gavin, who wheezed when it hit his stomach. "And her friend was a fool too!"
Withi that, the gang turned around and started to leave, but not before the rabbit looked at them again. "We better never catch you hanging round here again, understand?" The rabbit said before he went after the gang, while Gavin and Dogtania groaned with pain.
'So, this is what Paris is really like,' The two thought as they lay there, staring up at the stars. 'I almost wish I'd stayed home with my family,' Dogtania thought. 'We both could certainly use a hot meal and a warm bed,' She continued as both of their stomachs growled with hunger.
"Ugh, you alright Dogtania?" Gavin asked her as he slowly sat up, holding his head as he did so.
"I'll be alright," She replied as she sat up as well, before the two slowly got up and started to move on, with Gavin carrying the saddle and Dogtania carrying her sword, looking sadly at it.
A few minutes later, Dogtania spotted a large flat stone sitting on the side of the street, as well as another stone, and went over to it to. She then started to hammer the rock on her sword to straighten it out, while Gavin leaned against the wall as he watched her.
"What are you doing here?" An older male voice said to them, prompting them to look up and see that a middle-aged guard had come over to them.
"I've stopped to repair my sword," Dogtania replied.
"We'll be on our way once she's done monsieur," Gavin added before Dogtania hit the sword a few more times before standing up.
"Hmm, there now," She said as she looked at the blade, before sliding it with some difficulty back into its scabbard.
"One moment," The guard said to them. "You're both new in town. Where are you two from, and when did you arrive?"
"Today. We are from Bern," Gavin replied.
"From Bern? Well, I knew you two weren't from Paris," The guard said to them. "Where are you two staying?"
"Nowhere," The two replied sadly.
"Ah, so you're vagrants, eh? Well, you'll have to come with me," The guard said to them, surprising them.
"Huh?"
"Now!" The guard said.
"Not a chance!" Dogtania replied before she started to run, Gavin going after her. 'No way are we spending our first night in Paris in a jail cell!' She thought as they ran away from the guard.
"Hey you! Come back here! Stop I say!" The guard called after them as they ran away. "Halt! You're under arrest!"
They then rounded a corner, with the guard soon following, only to find that they were no longer in sight. "Halt in the name of the King!" He cried as he ran down the road, passing by a small alley that had a couple of barrels in it full of rainwater.
What he failed to realize was that the two travelers were hiding inside the barrels, holding their breaths as they stayed below the surface.
Several more seconds went by, before the two surfaced, and pulled themselves out of the barrels. They then started to walk the opposite way the guard had done, sighing as they went.
"Well, this has certainly been an eventful day," Dogtania said as they walked, with Gavin nodding in agreement, wincing as bit as his head throbbed with some pain.
They continued to walk for several more minutes, before Dogtania fell forward onto the ground next to a large stone house.
"Dogtania?" Gavin said to her with concern as he knelt down next to her, setting the saddle to the side as he did so.
"I'm sooo tired," She said with a whimper. "And cold. I can hardly take another step."
"So am I," Gavin replied as he yawned, before he sputtered as cold water splashed down on him from above, making him shiver even more. "What?" he said as he looked up, stood up, and moved back a bit, the water narrowly missing Dogtania, who had fallen asleep.
The water was coming from a third-floor window that was open, with some potted flowers on the sill.
"Hey! Excuse me! You're getting me all wet!" Gavin called up to the window. 'Oh, I really shouldn't be looking up like this,' He thought as his head pounded and he started to feel dizzy again.
Once he'd spoken, there was a gasp from the window, before a young lady stuck her head out of the window and looked down. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry monsieur!" She said, before her and Gavin's eyes widened with surprise.
"Hey, it's you again!" He said to the young lady with recognition, before he started to wobble. "It's good to see you again, mademoiselle."
"Call me Juliette," The young lady replied as Gavin continued to wobble.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Juliette," Gavin said as he fell to his knees. "My name is Gavin, and this is my friend Dog…tania…" he trailed off as he sat there, growing even more tired.
"Oh, poor Gavin!" Juliette said with concern. "You're soaking wet, and once again it's all my fault! Please forgive me!"
"Aw, think nothing of it, fair lady," Gavin replied as he looked up at her, before he passed out, his exhaustion and pain having caused him to do so. He fell forward and landed right on his chest on top of Dogtania's rear, eyes closed and an exhausted look on both of their faces, although she could only see Dogtania's due to him wearing his hood up.
"Oh, my poor Gavin! And poor Dogtania!" Juliette said as she looked at them, before she hurried away from the window. "I must go to them at once!"
And that was how Gavin and Dogtania found a friend in the big, cold city of Paris.
Well, this was an interesting chapter!
Can't wait to write more!
"The Woodcutter's Song" is owned by Robin Williamson, not me.
I will probably not be doing the sequel to the show, the return of Dogtanian. But if people really want me to, I might do it. It'd be difficult, but I could do it. It would be part of this story, not its own separate thing.
So far, the harem includes Dogtania and Juliette.
Please leave a review!
This is PuzzleMaster1998 here, signing off!
