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Post by Gwydion Nefarine on Mar 20, 2009 18:24:30 GMT -5
The caravan was traveling to Argad, their first stop on the way to Juada. They would probably stay at an inn there, and move on to Alodale. From Alodale, they would travel to Issil, then to Burla, then, finally, to Juada.
Eilonway normally walked beside Cambion when they traveled, but, of course, he wasn't here. She walked beside Jess, continuing to offer her assistance when it was needed. It was getting a little quiet and she thought she might try to start a conversation. "Do you have any family, Jess?"
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Post by anasa on Mar 21, 2009 9:37:30 GMT -5
"Plenty of it," Jess replied jokingly, "Too much, actually. I think my parents mistook themselves for rabbits early on in the marriage." She chuckled to herself, thinking of how strongly she would have been scolded had her mother heard that comment.
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Post by Gwydion Nefarine on Mar 21, 2009 20:59:40 GMT -5
Eilonway, laughed with her. "I don't think you can have too much family." Her parents had been executed along with Cambion's, of course, about two years after she was born, for being involved in the rebellion.
She had no brothers or sisters. After the death of Cambion's parents and hers, they had grown up together, raised by Dallben and the rest of the old rebellion members, though both of them had been closest to Dallben. He was like a father to both of them. Cambion and Eilonway, however, didn't exactly feel like they were brother and sister.
Eilonway was almost jealous of Jess, because she had never known her real family. "Jess, if you don't mind me asking, why did you leave your family?"
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Post by anasa on Mar 22, 2009 9:09:30 GMT -5
"I don't mind at all," Jess said, crossing rubbing her arms to rub off the still-lingering cold, "I was engaged to a boy of a prosperous farming family on the other side of our village. He was dull, sickly, and nothing pretty to look at. I mean no offense to him, of course! He's just not the type of person I want to marry. Also...I don't know how things are where you come from, Elionway, but among the farmers of Raoro, when a woman becomes a wife, that's all she is. A wife. I had a dream of being a travelling bard who became rich and famous off of her talent, not cooking, cleaning, and having the babies of some farm boy. Anyway, when I refused, my parents only pushed me harder, going so far as to deny me of food and water until I accepted. Learning that my mother had given up HER dream in order to marry my father was only icing on the cake. That is why I left."
Jess took a deep breath. It had been a long time since she had said so many things at once to another person. In fact, she couldn't recall even telling her entire story before. She had been travelling by herself for too long.
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Post by Gwydion Nefarine on Mar 23, 2009 17:39:37 GMT -5
Eilonway had a newfound respect for Jess. It seemed she had a will of her own, unlike other humans. Most were controlled by money or other people. "I see what you mean. I'd sooner die than become a housewife." That was one of the only truths she had told so far, not that she enjoyed lying to Jess, but it was neccessary. "And I don't think I'd like marrying someone that someone else had picked out for me. I say let nature run its course. When are you going to visit your home again? Even if your parents didn't exactly act like they should have, you can't abandon them forever."
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Post by anasa on Mar 23, 2009 21:10:51 GMT -5
"Maybe..." Jess said softly, folding her hands as she walked, "Maybe I don't want to ever see them again...does that make me a bad person, Elionway?"
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Post by Gwydion Nefarine on Mar 23, 2009 21:53:32 GMT -5
"No! of course not, Jess! We all get feelings like that, from time to time." She chose her words carefully, mentally going through the good advice that she had gotten from the more experienced, like Dallben. "One day, though, I think you'll want to see your family again. By then, you'll miss them, if you don't already, and the same will go for them, I'm sure. You might not care to see them now, but I think you will eventually."
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Post by anasa on Mar 24, 2009 10:27:24 GMT -5
"Yeah, well..." Jess mumbled, her eyes glued to her feet, "We'll see."
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Post by Gwydion Nefarine on Mar 24, 2009 17:37:02 GMT -5
"What did he think about it?" she said. "I mean, your fiance."
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Post by anasa on Mar 25, 2009 17:33:43 GMT -5
"Huh?" Jess said, looking up, "How should I know? I never told anyone I was leaving."
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Post by Gwydion Nefarine on Mar 25, 2009 21:08:10 GMT -5
"I meant to say, 'how did he feel about you not wanting to marry him?' Or, did he know that you were refusing to marry him?" Eilonway glanced about the city as she talked. They had just passed through the gates. They were now in Argad.
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Post by anasa on Mar 26, 2009 10:54:56 GMT -5
"Well, we only saw each other twice," Jess replied, mentally cursing herself for making herself look like a fool before her new companion, "Once, when we were 10 (long before the engagement was announced,) and then again under heavy parental supervision. Apparently, the fact that we were engaged to each other meant that we would fall instantly in love with each other, and thus couldn't be left alone. He seemed just as uninterested as me."
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Post by Gwydion Nefarine on Mar 26, 2009 17:41:10 GMT -5
"Well, I'm sure you'll find someone. Someone that you will fall in love with," she added. The whole caravan was now bustling down the streets in a hurry. Eilonway was going to check them all into an inn, and the lot of them would probably do whatever they usually did in towns, setting up their shops and stands. Eilonway came out of a nearby inn. "Okay, Jess. You have the rest of the day to do what you like. We're going to leave again in the morning." The rest had already gone to the busiest streets.
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Post by anasa on Mar 27, 2009 12:59:17 GMT -5
"Right!" Jess declared, "I'm going to go make some money!"
With that, she was off, heading for the spots in town with the largest amount of potential audience members. As she walked, she thought about what Elionway had said. It seemed a strange and foreign concept to her that someone would fall "madly" in love with her. She was a nobody whose only winning trait was her voice. Not that she was complaining, though. Love to her was just a concept that people liked to write songs about, and she was happy not to be trapped in its clutches.
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Post by Gwydion Nefarine on Apr 1, 2009 20:26:39 GMT -5
Eilonway watched Jess follow the rest of them. After they were almost out of sight, she turned to go in the opposite direction. She was going to walk around the city for now; she needed a little time to herself, to think. She wasn’t in any real need of money right now, so she could afford a day of relaxing, though she’d rather be in a battle.
She sighed with longing when she thought about what was to come for everybody back at the rebellion camp. She was going to miss out on one of the boldest things the rebellion had attempted so far! The more she thought about it, the more she started to get mad at Cambion. Why did he leave me behind? Anyone could have looked after Jess. And he knows I’d much rather be there, with the rebellion, than here, with the caravan. She finally reasoned that he probably had his reasons, but she decided to ask him about it when he got back.
“The rebellion is doomed,” she heard suddenly. She sprang her hidden knife out of her cloak and looked around for the speaker. No one was there. That was strange. She should have been able to tell if anyone was nearby. Maybe she was hearing things... “You’re about to go too far. Be careful, lest he unleashes his wrath upon you all.” Eilonway looked around her again and listened for any footsteps. There was nothing.
She finally turned back toward the city and broke into a jog. When she got to the outer parts, she signaled one of the many druidoks that guarded the caravan. It turned out to be Laurel, the same one who had brought the message from camp a few days ago, in the form of a small blue bird. They went to a deserted alley nearby, and Eilonway told her what she had heard earlier. Laurel looked worried. “Who do you think it was?” Eilonway shrugged. “I’m not sure. It could have been in my head, but I think it would be unwise to ignore it. Go tell Cambion at camp.” Laurel nodded. “Right.” She flew off south.
Eilonway didn’t really think this was nothing. Even if it was another druidok, which was highly unlikely, she should have been able to detect someone’s presence. She headed off in the direction that Jess and the others had gone earlier. She looked around for her, listening, too, in case she was singing, though she wasn’t sure she would have been able to identify her voice.
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