CHAPTER 3
—--8th day
When Wednesday morning came to leave after her week, she ate her breakfast. She put on her cloak with hood up, packed up her horse at the inn, mounted Ghrian and headed out in the direction of the town Àiteigin (Someplace). Abigail said the proprietor of the inn was named Darwin Gothwaite. Aron gave her directions and the best places to camp if she needed to all the way to the Labyrinth. She kissed his cheek and waved goodbye to him.
Abigail and Griff made her a care package of dried meats, a block of cheese, a bag full of shelled nuts, dried berries with a loaf of bread which she stored in the front saddle bags with a bottle of water. She would put the bread in the gallon size plastic bag she had in the small saddlebags. She put the small saddlebags to the front just behind the withers for just this kind of thing, immediate eats. She had cookies from the baker in town and two sandwiches made up in one of her plastic gallon bags. She gave them a hug and thanked them before she left. He told her to come back anytime and to be safe. She was so glad she stopped here.
She had her bow and quiver on her back. The totes were hooked on each side of the saddle in front tied together with leather thongs at the handles and anchored to a ring on the saddles front. She thought too bad they don't have western saddles with a saddle horn.
She headed southwest at a steady pace following the road to Àiteigin. She ate as she went except for pulling off for bathroom breaks and finding drinking water and grass for Ghrian to eat. Good thing is a horse can block you while you pee against a tree. She rode all day speeding up for a while to get there faster. She continued towards her destination.
When she entered Àiteigin, it was around dusk. She rode through the street looking around until she spotted the inn. She noticed many more people around in the streets, glancing at her. She got off her horse and unpacked her things leaving just the saddled horse tethered to the post outside.
She walked in with her baggages and went to the counter at the back. She said to the innkeeper, "Can I get a room for the next three nights?"
He eyed her suspiciously and said, "I guess. Money up front. Me rooms are six silvers an five coppers a day. We ave' a privy, pump and tub in tha rooms. Today's meal be roasted chicken." Sarah gave him two gold coins. He gave her five coppers back in change.
She said, "Griff and Abigail sent me here from Caulgh. I stayed with them for the last week. Which room?"
He gave her a key and said, "Number three. They be of a good kind."
Sarah said, "Yes they are. Where can I board my horse?"
He said, "Down the way to the left and then right. Talk to Efrin the blacksmith." She thanked him and took her things up to the room. Oh it was a much better room with a water pump, tub and a latrine. The fireplace had a large kettle next to it for heating water she figured. This was a more comfortable room. She settled in a bit and locked the room to go down and board her horse bringing the curry brush with her in a leather drawstring pouch.
She talked to Efrin and paid for three days to board Ghrian and brushed him down. She walked back to the inn and noticed people still glancing at her. It was making her feel out of place. She went up to the counter and asked for an ale. Darwin said, "So, tell me, why would a woman, such as yerself be travelin' in men's clothing?"
Sarah said, "To be less of a target." Darwin nodded. She asked, "How did you know and is that why everyone is looking at me in the street?"
Darwin said, "Ye be a stranger is why they be lookin'. I be knowin' because no boy be havin' a pretty face with yer green eyes like that, but a female, a fae or both. Yer not from around here are ye?"
She said, "No, I'm from very very far away. I have no family so I'm just traveling to see new places and people." Darwin Gothwaite was about early thirties in age. He wasn't a bad looking man but very dark brown eyes, dark tan skin from being outside in the sun, black hair and a five o'clock shadow on his face.
He said, "Welcome to Àiteigin, me names Darwin Gothwaite, but Abigail and Griff probably already told you that."
Sarah said, "Nice to meet you Darwin. I'm Sar."
Darwin asked, "Would ye like another ale? I think the chicken may be done. I'll check ifin' yer hungry fer dinner?" She smiled and nodded. He took her empty tankard and refilled it. He went to the back and came out with a delicious plate of potatoes, carrots and green beans with the roasted chicken. Sarah smiled and thanked him. She was hungrier than she thought.
After she ate, she went walking around town looking at all the stores and found a bakery shop open. She smelled wonderful things wafting through the air from there. She went in and purchased a half dozen different pastries to try and a dozen lemon cookies. The lady bagged her up and Sarah headed back to the inn.
She sat down at the counter which had more patrons in it and pulled out a pastry. Darwin walked up and asked if she would like another ale. She asked for wine instead and he got her a tankard. She smiled and asked him, "Darwin, would you like one of my pastries from Jenny's Bakery?"
He smiled and said, "That's very nice and friendly of ya. Thank ye." He picked a cherry tart. He groaned when he bit into it and said, "Jenny be makin' the best baked goods." Sarah smiled.
She sat listening to the conversations going on around the room. One man was saying that the Fairy Kingdom was the stingiest to get paid your worth when working there. His friend said that there was a project of building a dam between the Goblin Kingdom and the Fairy Kingdom. He said it would create jobs and was starting soon.
Another conversation was about how the Dwarven Kingdom was at odds with the Centaur Kingdom over mineral rights to the lower hills on the mountain range around the mountains of their kingdom. They said the High King would not interfere and they needed to negotiate.
Another conversation was when an old woman was complaining about how she was commissioned to make a dress for the Fairy Princess, Emiline. She was instructed to make it a certain way, which she did but halfway in the middle she changed everything and caused her to change and seam rip the whole dress apart and start over and wouldn't compensate her. The man sitting with her said, that's just how the fae are and especially the Fairy Kingdom royals.
Sara waved to Darwin and went to her room and unpacked to get settled for a couple days. She took a relaxing bath and scrubbed everything. She dumped the water out a window into the alley and filled the tub again halfway to wash her hair. She got in a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt and stoked the fire. She ate a couple of cookies while reading the little ratty old book from front to back in bed with a cup of tea. Eventually, she scooted down in bed and slept like a brick.
—--9th day
The next day she did her laundry in the tub and strung her rope around the room to dry in front of the fireplace. As they dried she would repack them up. She would take a break and go down to visit, eat or get a drink.
—--11th day
After her three nights in Àiteigin were up, she ate breakfast, said her goodbyes, packed up and headed to Loch Glad. She didn't run into anybody and got in town at dark she went to the inn. She pulled all her baggage from her horse and went inside. There were several people inside drinking, eating and talking. They turned and went quiet looking at her when she walked in. She ignored them.
She said in a deeper voice like she rehearsed and her face shadowed in her hood, "Can I get a room for a week, please?"
The innkeeper gruffly said, "Seven silver a night Ifin' ya want a room with water, tub and privy." She pulled out five gold. He gave her back 1 silver and a key.
He said, "Room Seven."
She went up and dropped her stuff and locked the door. She saw a tub, pump and privy. It didn't look bad. She asked him where she could board her horse. He gave her directions. She paid six coppers a day. She paid for seven nights. She handed him five silver. He gave her four coppers back. She went back to the inn.
She sat down at the counter and asked, "Excuse me, what do you have for food tonight?"
He said, "Shepherd's Pie. Four coppers."
She asked, "Do you have mead?"
He said, "Two more coppers." She paid him six and sat at the counter. Those damn people were fucking staring at her still a pin could drop in there. What the fuck, they never seen a person eat and drink mead. He gave her a tankard of mead and got her a bowl of shepherd pie. She sat and ate at the end of the bar and the people finally started talking again.
One man said that a few people were going to petition the Goblin King to put more guards up here because four people have disappeared around Thallansin. They were kidnapping citizens for the illegal Centaur trade in their kingdom or slave markets in the Ogre Kingdom.
A man was talking about how his nephew who works for the Pixie King, told him the king was wanting a wife and was going to throw a ball to find a wife out of all the fae there if possible. He said with as much sex as those fae have with each other you think that they would already know who they would marry. Sarah wanted to laugh.
A lady complained and claimed that her neighbor didn't pay her for the sewing she did for them.
Another man said the price of barley and wheat were going up in the Fairy Kingdom again. The best place to buy it is the Unicorn Kingdom.
She finished her meal and drank her mead. She left him a silver coin as a tip. Thanked the innkeeper to his surprise and went to her room. She locked the door and stripped off her clothes. She took a bath and relaxed in her tub. She dumped her water and locked the window pulling the curtains. She washed her hair and washed her clothes hanging them up in front of the fire on a rope. She wanted the road dirt off her skin and the sweat out of her hair. She got a long sleeve shirt and shorts on. She stoked the fire and sat in front of it drying her hair and looking into the flames. She was lonely. She got in bed after a while, with her gun and knife under her pillow. A new town kinda spooked her, especially the way they pay attention to strangers. With all the disappearing females, she wasn't surprised.
She could hear the people leaving out of the inn for the night and the innkeeper shutting everything down downstairs. After a while she started to doze off to sleep.
—--16th day
Four days passed, and Sarah rolled over and stretched. Her ears itched. She went to scratch them and they felt funny. Sat up in bed and felts point on her ears. She freaked out. She grabbed her shoulder bag and opened a bag that had a compact mirror in it. She was looking at herself and her eyebrows were slanted, her ears were pointed, and her green eyes were a little bit bigger. At least her hair was still dark brown. She looked at her body and she had no body hair. She stuck her hands down to her crotch. She came back out with a handful of loose pubic hairs. She started to freak the fuck out. How in the hell did she change into a fucking FAE!
She took her clothes off and her underwear and everything she drew more water to make another bath. She washed her whole body and clipped her hair up on her head. All her body hair came off even her pubic hair all disappeared in the tub easily. It's like her follicles let go except her head hair and eyebrows. She rinsed herself off in the tub and dumped the water out the window and shook her t-shirt, shorts and underwear out the window and swept out the bed between the sheets.
Afterwards, she got dressed in her green tunic, black leggings and black lace up boots. She braided her hair and put it down her back. She put her gloves on and her cloak with the hood up. She focused concentrating on her hand and did the movements with her wrist like Jareth did to produce a crystal. She produced a perfect green crystal ball. HOLY SHIT I HAVE MAGIC! She concentrated and popped the crystal ball.
She was scared. She didn't know what the hell was happening to her body. She decided to just go with it for now. She had on her gun, knife, and her money pouch. She needed breakfast. She needed a fae to help her figure out what to do, but who? She needed to be trained to use magic. She only knew Jareth, and he hated her for spurning his affections eleven years ago, even if she was still a child and didn't understand. She was still too young to mate with a full adult fae. She told herself, eat first, worry later.
She locked up and went down to the tavern. And sat at the bar. She asked in her deeper voice, "Excuse me, do you have anything for breakfast with a cup of tea?"
The innkeeper said gruffly, "Eggs, beans, potatoes, venison bits and toast with tea. Five coppers." She gave him a silver coin. He gave her back five coppers and brought her the meal with a cup of tea.
She said, "Thank you."
He said, "Where ye from boy? Ye been staying here and it be yer fifth day."
She said, "From very far away." She started eating and drinking her tea as they talked with her head down.
He said, "I see. Ye got polite manners. Even the people around town in the baker's and the smithy say so. Ye treat people fair. Ye got a name?"
She said, "Sar. You got a name?" He laughed.
He said, "Bernie. Ye just passin' through?" She nodded. "How come ye be all covered up all the time. It be making people nervous in these parts with the disappearin' people an all?"
She had to think fast. She said, "Burns." He nodded understandingly.
He said, "Ye been a better tennet than we get, most complain, but ye just keep ter yerself."
She said, "It's easier not to get noticed." He nodded.
He said, "It tis indeed. Enjoy yer meal?" She was, it was good and it filled her up. She left him a silver coin as a tip and left to go back to her room. She took off her cloak and gloves and laid on her bed reading her history books and the little book. She was trying to understand and think about what she was going to do. She figured that she needed to head to the Goblin City, to find her friends. It was a risk, but maybe they could help her. Hopefully they weren't mad at her because she never contacted them again. She wondered why the portal got shut down. She thought that, perhaps, Jareth was pissed at her and cut her off from talking to her friends on purpose. She had no clue.
Why would she turn now? The land must be magic and once she was exposed to enough, maybe that changed her. She just got removed from the human category and she was so confused. She was leaving after two more nights here.