Part Two-Childhood

A small bundle of mousy brown hair and purple eyes came hurtling through William's workshop slipping on the stone floor and falling to the ground with a thump

"Rosie" William frowned "Be careful" he said turning back to his work

"I am" the little four year old looked up and scowled at him,folding her arms and huffing loudly to get her father's attention

William smiled to himself before turning round and asking innocently "Is there something the matter?"

"It's not fair" Rosie whined

"What's not little one?"

"They all get to go out into Nottingham and have fun and i have to stay here" she scowled using all fours to get up on a stool in the least graceful manner William had ever seen

"And you will too...when you're older"

"You said that yesterday and i am older than i was yesterday" Rosie said climbing onto her fathers lap

"Well you need to be a bit older than one day"

"Two days?" Rosie looked up hopefully

"Older still"

Roise looked down and was counting on her fingers and she held up four "This many?"

"More like three years"

"Three years!!" Rosie repeated in shock with her mouth hanging open

"When you're seven i will take you into Nottingham when i go to trade" William said firmly

Rosie huffed and slid off his lap and fell to the floor with a bump where she crawled under the table to sulk. William stuck his head under the table and looked at his daughter who had turned her back to him

"Rosie" he coaxed but Rosie only made a high pitched whine in reply "Do you want to see it?" he said referring to the wind rose that Rosie spent most of her time looking at and tracing each line with her little fingers

"No" came the sulky reply and William bent down under the table to pick up his daughter who squirmed as he did so "Daddy nooooo!" she squealed as he picked her up and carried her across the room "Daddy down" she cried

William gently put her down on the rug next to the fire where he tried to stiffle a laugh as she scrunched up her face in a melodramatic scowl. He asked her again

"Do you want to see it?" and she nodded in defeat.

William gently pulled out the parchment he had drawn on that cold night four years ago and set it down in front of Rosie. Almost as if in a trance she sat down crossed legged on the rug and started to trace each line with her finger. He looked over her shoulder at the parchment and smiled to himself. Out of all his daughters Rosie's was the most intricate. In the middle was a red rose and drawn around were intricate swirls and letters depicting the paths of the great forest and tales of old. Without realising William had drawn a whole map in miniature on her wind rose.

"Daddy?" Roise said not looking up

"Yes Rosie?"

"Can you teach me?" and William looked up at his daughter shocked

"Teach you what?" he said already knowing the answer but he wanted to hear the words from her little mouth

"Teach me about exploring and maps. I want to know what this all means" she said pointing to the lines and swirls.

William smiled, not one of his daughters had shown an interest in his map making except Rosie. He had always known she was going to be different but his heart sank a little as he thought for a moment. He knew that if he taught her the ways of map making she would soon want to explore and he knew he would loose her. Rosie always wanted to explore and William had to keep a close eye on her so she didn't wander off too far but he knew down deep in his heart that her path had already been chosen and the best thing he could do was make sure that she was well prepared when the time came.

"Yes Rosie i'll teach you but you promise me one thing"

"What?" she said looking up at him

"That you do not tell anyone of the secrets that i teach you because Rosie, even a name can give away a thousand secrets" and Rosie nodded

"I promise" she said and William smiled.

He took her small hand and gently led her over to his work bench where piles of parchment were laid. Late into the night the two of them sat together as William taught Rosie all his secrets. She sat there with her purple eyes lapping up the colours and lines of the maps and her mind remembering each little detail her father taught her. William kissed his daughter on the top of the head. He knew this skill would serve her well one day, he just wished that it would be in the right circumstances.