yes, it's me again. yes, it's June. Maybe by next Christmas, I will have finished this-
Warning: near-drowning in this chapter
It was a beautiful sunny day, even though the temperature had dropped to 2 degrees and the country was covered in snow.
Nevertheless, the ward kids were eager to go outside after having spent the last few days inside. Children of all age groups had gathered around their caretakers.
Will sported a huge pleading smile and joined hands.
"Please, we want to have a snowball fight!" he begged. Horace, for once on the same wavelength, joined in with his own plea.
Mistress Aggie, their caretaker, sighed. She massaged her temples briefly before giving in.
"Very well then, but we won't be gone for long. I don't want you all to get sick," she said and there was a collective "yay!" echoing from the wards.
The boys ran to their rooms to throw on their winter clothes, but Alyss and Jenny stayed. Jenny gently tugged on Aggie's skirt. The caretaker looked down at the girl.
"Can we collect some holly please?" she asked, Alyss, making her best babydoll eyes from the side to support her. "We want to make some Christmas wreaths."
Mistress Aggie bent down and stroked both girls' hair.
"Of course you can. Would you like some help with making the wreaths?"
"We'll go to the meadow near the river then," she said, knowing that the holly grew well in damp areas and that near the Tarbus river, there were several holly trees. The girls could collect the plants there.
"Would you like me to do your hair?" Aggie asked. Both Alyss and Jenny nodded enthusiastically. Alyss enjoyed having braided hair, as the braid kept it well away from her face, and Jenny loved having her hair in a ponytail. While Alyss had long, platinum blonde hair, Jenny's strawberry blonde hair was shorter, falling just to her shoulders. It couldn't be braided, but a ponytail could do.
Mistress Aggie smiled and took the brush to comb their hair. She motioned for Alyss to come closer. Combing her hair, the caretaker looked at Jenny.
"Why don't you go dress up and then I'll do your hair?" she asked the girl gently, and Jenny nodded, a big smile on her face.
"Alright!" she grinned, and in a moment, she was gone. She went to her room to throw on her winter clothes, a warm woolen sweater, and a pair of woolen thighs to go under her skirt.
She was just done when Alyss entered the room to dress up as well, and Jenny hurried to mistress Aggie so she could do her hair.
Meanwhile, the boys had started a snowball fight in the courtyard, much to the dismay of several noblemen and guards that were unfortunate enough to get in the way of a stray snowball. Or rather, it was Will and Horace who had started the fight; George stood sideways, offering apologetic glances to the guards and nobles who passed, the expressions on their faces angry mixed with disgust.
When the girls were ready, they went outside along with Mistress Aggie. Will and Horace stopped trying to see who'd make a snowman out of the other the fastest and came to them.
"Why do you girls always take so much time to prepare?" Horace grumbled, obviously annoyed that he had to wait. He had yet to learn to be patient, something that he wouldn't learn in the next few years.
Jenny stuck out her tongue at him.
"Because we have more layers," she reasoned, motioning to her skirt and leggings that she has with her linen shirt and woolen sweater, along with the warm cloak.
Horace crossed his arms on his chest.
"Well, be quicker next time," he chastised them and Will came running from the middle of the courtyard.
"Your loss that you weren't here for the first battle," he grinned. "I totally pulverized Horace!"
Alyss allowed herself a small smile at their antics and shook her head slightly in amusement.
"The real battle still has to begin," she reminded them. Will and Horace lit up, already looking forward to it. They would both try and win.
George came from the side.
"I, for one, don't want to be a walking snowman again," he said grimly. Alyss looked his way, a sympathetic look on her face. She knew that George would rather stay inside reading a book or trying to decode the difficult writings of an encyclopedia, but he had to tag along with them as Mistress Aggie went out with them and there would be no one to keep an eye on him. Not that George needed it; he could take care of himself fairly well and could stay quiet and entertained.
Mistress Aggie looked at her charges.
"Let's go, children," she said, taking Jenny and George's hands as she stepped slowly out towards the castle gates. "And be mindful of your steps; there might be ice on the way."
Step by step, they made their way out of the castle and towards Wensley village. They weren't going all the way into the village, though. They'd stop near the Tarbus river on one of the meadows. The snow there was still pristine white, not the dirty wet substance that was around the roads. It was a perfect place for a bunch of children to play in. Furthermore, it was the place where the holly shrubs grew, as the girls wanted to collect it. Mistress Aggie was carrying a small basket meant specifically for the collected plants. Jenny, being her bubbly self, soon let go of the caretaker's hand and ran into the snow to make angels in it. Giggling, Alyss joined her, while the boys took the liberty to run ahead and once again smash each other with snowballs. The only one who didn't wander off was George, and he was currently talking about an exciting new word that he had learned during the morning lessons that week.
Finally, they arrived at the spot where Mistress Aggie let them run free. Horace ran ahead, skillfully taking snow from the ground.
"Two teams, George and I and Will and the girls!" he called at them. George rolled his eyes. That was just like Horace, deciding on teams himself. Whatever , the boy thought as he followed him, Horace would take care of all the work anyway .
"Hey!" Will yelled, angry. "That's not fair!" While he knew that Horace wanted a chance to prove himself to be a better snow-fighter than him, distributing the teams by himself just wasn't fair. Neither was setting the three of them against one, as Horace would most definitely just push George out of the way.
Jenny smiled.
"It's okay, I don't have to participate," she said, low-key winking at Alyss. She knew that the girl liked spending time with Will, her oldest friend, and she was content with letting them have such time. Also, it made the teams fairer.
Alyss turned around.
"Do you need help?" she asked, but Jenny was already shaking her head.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she smiled. "You can enjoy the fight." Alyss' subtle look towards Will went unnoticed by the boy, but Jenny knew that she had just done Alyss a favour.
The four of them started gathering snowballs and a small wall of snow to hide behind from the enemy's attacks. While Will made the wall, Alyss helped make balls out of the snow. They both knew that once his reputation was at stake, Horace could be quite quick, and so they tried to work as fast as possible. George kept trying to help, but he could never dream to achieve the larger boy's speed. But he tried and they all had fun, which was the most important thing.
Jenny and Mistress Aggie went to the holly bushes that grew near the river. The caretaker set the basket down and she knelt next to one of those bushes.
"Remember, for a wreath, you need to take quite a long piece," she said, and Jenny looked over her shoulder to see how to do it. Once she was sure that she'd be able to do it, the girl skipped a few feet away to another one of the bushes and started gathering the twigs.
It was simple and monotonous work, but Jenny enjoyed it. It was almost as simple as kneading dough for a pie. When she was small, she used to help her mother out in the kitchen a lot - at least before her mother died. Jenny had always liked the meaningful work of making the dough. Eight times and another one out of love, that's what her mother always said.
It was almost the same with collecting holly. Take the twig, measure the correct amount and cut it. Then repeat. And Mistress Aggie also helped her in the gathering while the others played.
The basket was fuller and fuller, and soon, it would be time to go.
"It will be alright like this, Jenny," Mistress Aggie called to her. "The basket's full, it's time to go home!"
Jenny looked at the gathered twigs in her hand.
"Coming!" she called back but looked at that one piece of holly that she wanted to reach. The last one, she told herself as she stretched towards it. However, she was still too short and had to take a step forward.
Finally! Her hand closed around the holly, but Jenny felt a force weighing her down. The snow she stood on collapsed under her, sending her straight down into the freezing river. The girl screamed before she took a dip, and then screamed some more when the freezing water got through her leggings and skirt, leaving her soaked. She had long let go of the holly she had in her hand, and the stream was carrying it away, but Jenny didn't care.
"Jenny!" Mistress Aggie called, running towards her. She needed to save her, fast.
The other wards stopped playing, stunned. Alyss and Will recovered the fastest when they realized what had happened.
"Jenny! Hold on!" Will called, running towards the river.
He was stopped by the caretaker.
"No! Don't go near the river! The snow is unstable, you'd end up the same way!" she called, making her way to Jenny. Keeping hold of a tree, she extended her hand, trying to reach the girl.
Horace huffed.
"Why can she go to the river and we can't?" he pouted. Usually, it would seem that he didn't care about his ward mates, but his heart was soft deep down, and he cared just as much as Will or Alyss.
The tall girl looked at him. She was also itching to go after Jenny, to help her, but she realized the danger she could end up in.
"Because we could fall into the water too," she explained, frowning nervously as she watched how Mistress Aggie managed to get hold of Jenny's hand and was pulling her towards the bank. "Then Mistress Aggie would have to save us all."
Will crossed his arms on his chest.
"But we could help!" he protested. He didn't like staying on the sidelines. It made him feel useless. Alyss shrugged.
"I'd also like to help, but we have to trust in Mistress Aggie. She knows what she's doing," she replied.
Meanwhile, Jenny was panicking, flapping her hands wildly in the river, trying to get to the shore. The current wasn't particularly strong, but it was proving to be too much for the 8-year-old.
"Jenny!" she heard a familiar voice call. Looking up, she saw Mistress Aggie as she held onto a tree with one hand, and extended the other towards her.
"H-Help!" Jenny gasped, reaching out to her. She was soaked and her clothes were weighing her down. It was difficult to move, but she had to try. Gasping for air and in the effort, she pushed forward and managed to grasp the caretaker's hand.
"I've got you!" Aggie gasped and started pulling her towards the shore. As an 8-year-old, Jenny was becoming too heavy to carry, but she was still light enough for the Mistress to pull her up onto the shore. Huffing in the effort, the woman let go of the tree and hurried to the girl. She hugged her tightly, not caring that her own clothes would become wet.
"I'm so glad you're alright, I was so scared," she said, beads of sweat running down her forehead. She hastily unclipped her cloak and put it over Jenny's shoulders in an attempt to keep her at least a bit warm.
The other wards reached them, everyone wanting to hug Jenny as well.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Alyss hugged her, relieved tears flowing down her face. Mistress Aggie ushered them to go, holding shivering Jenny close.
"Alyss, please take the basket," she said. "Let's get you home before Jenny gets hypothermia," she said, taking the girl into her arms. After what she'd been through, Jenny could hardly walk; she was in shock. Aggie tried to instruct her to breathe calmly, but Jenny started sobbing as the woman and children hurried back to the castle.
"I… I'm sowwy," she cried, burying her face in Aggie's sweater. Wool pricked at her eyes, but she kept crying. Soon, she felt Aggie's hand gently caressing her back, making soft moves on her back to calm her down, and in time, the girl's sobs quieted down but her breathing remained fast and she was shivering all over.
It took them all a record time to get back to the castle, and Mistress Aggie gently set Jenny down in her room, had Alyss fetch her some clothes while she helped the girl undress, and change into something warm. Aggie put a woolen blanket over her shoulders and hurried to make a warm tea that would help raise her temperature.
Alyss stayed in the room, half-hugging Jenny, as the other girl curled up into a ball to get as much warmth as she could. It was a bit above zero degrees outside, but after a dip in the freezing cold water, it would take her a long time to get properly warm again.
Jenny didn't speak. She was only shivering and refused to meet Alyss' eyes. She felt awful that the trip had to be cut short because of her. Tears threatened to fall as she thought about it. Alyss saw her miserable look and repeated the circular movements along her back that she saw Mistress Aggie do to calm her down.
"It's okay, Jenny," she said. "We would go home soon anyway."
The strawberry blonde nodded, smiling slightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Then, she couldn't keep smiling as her teeth started to chatter again.
The door creaked and Mistress Aggie came inside. In her hands, she held a cup of black tea, sweetened with honey, just as Jenny liked it. She always had quite the sweet tooth, and in this case, sugar also helped her body build up energy and keep her warm.
Aggie stroked Jenny's hair, undoing it from its ponytail.
"It's alright, Jenny," she said softly, helping the girl raise the cup to her lips and drink carefully. "It could've happened to anyone." She didn't mention the basket of holly that sat in the hallway, ready for her to make the wreaths. At the moment, it wouldn't be appropriate to mention it. She could always do that later on.
Alyss watched as Jenny downed the cup and was gently put to sleep.
That night, Mistress Aggie made several visits to their room. Jenny's adventure turned into a fever and the caretaker spent a good portion of the night caring for the sick girl, putting wet cloths on her forehead to try and ease the high temperature.
Hours turned into days, and Jenny had to spend her time in bed. Not that she minded, she was glad that she was allowed to just stay under the blankets and sleep, and take an awful medicine that the healer prescribed her. The holly branches lay forgotten in the corner of Mistress Aggie's room as she waited for the girl to get better again. Alyss had to move temporarily into the room of one of the younger wards so she wouldn't become sick as well. However, every day, she came to sit by Jenny's bed and tell her about what all she had learned during the morning classes, and Jenny always half-sat, half-laid in her bed, smiling as her friend excitedly told her about all the trouble Horace and Will got into, or a new book that George found in the library. The other wards visited as well, George came in and tried to teach her some of the carols that they'd be singing for Baron Arald, but soon, Jenny's breathing became rasped as she coughed. George would then get her some water and apologize profusely.
Finally, after several days, Jenny felt better. Her fever had dropped to a normal temperature and she felt well enough to get out of her bed and attend lessons. Everyone was relieved that she was up and about, though she still needed plenty of rest. However, the girl didn't forget about her task in the upcoming surprise for the Baron, so, on one snowy afternoon, she sought out Mistress Aggie and tugged on her skirt.
"Mistress Aggie?" she said in a quiet voice. "Now that I feel better.., could you please show me how to make the wreaths?" She put on her best pleading look. She had seen the caretakers make Christmas wreaths before and she was pretty sure that Aggie could show her. Or at least instruct her on how to do it.
The woman smiled down at her.
"Of course I can," she said, her voice kind. "I have your holly in my room, could you please clean the table while I go fetch it?"
Jenny nodded, sparkles of excitement playing in her eyes. She hurried to take all the unnecessary things off the table so she could learn. Then, she sat on the chair, swinging her legs back and forth impatiently.
When Mistress Aggie returned, not only she had the basket, but also a grapevine wreath and a piece of rope. Jenny's eyes widened.
"We need all that?" she asked curiously, looking at the grapevine wreath. Mistress Aggie smiled.
"Yes, we will decorate this wreath," she held up the grapevine wreath and Jenny frowned. She had thought that making a proper Christmas wreath would be far simpler, not that she'd be making one wreath out of another. However, she stayed quiet and let Aggie set it down on the table, along with holly.
The caretaker sat beside her and instructed her: "Alright, take some of the holly branches." Jenny did as she was asked, gathering holly with pretty red berries.
"Now put it on the wreath, and then we'll tie it there." Jenny's tongue stuck out at the corner of her mouth in deep concentration as she put the holly into a nice position. Then, Mistress Aggie helped her tie the rope at the end.
"Let's repeat this until the whole wreath is covered," Mistress Aggie said, watching how Jenny slowly but surely managed to make her first very own wreath. Here and there, she helped her out with tying the knots, especially at the end, but soon enough, they had a beautiful wreath lying in front of them.
Jenny's eyes sparkled.
"You made a very nice wreath," her caretaker noted, making the girl smile.
"It's amazing!" she exclaimed, excited to go show her work to Alyss. Her gaze landed on the empty basket.
"We can't do more," she said sadly. Mistress Aggie smiled knowingly.
"Of course we can," she told her gently. Jenny looked up.
"But… we don't have any more holly," she lamented. Aggie stroked her hair.
"How about we go collect more later on?"
Jenny's lips widened into a giant smile as she threw her arms around the woman's torso.
"Thank you, Mistress Aggie!" she cried, and the caretaker smiled. Hugging her charge back, she remarked: "But this time, not around the river, okay?"
