by C S Patra
Walking through these dirt roads became much easier once the sun came up. The nearest village was not too far away so they could make it there by foot. This would be the perfect place to get a meal, pick up some more supplies, and possibly purchase a horse to carry their extra weight. They had already left Themasa as the first light came up, but Alice was already tired. She hoped that no one would mind if they rested for a little bit before heading out again. Her feet were aching and she was sure she had blisters on them. The roads were more winding than she had expected, and it took a lot longer than she had hoped.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go down one of these shortcuts?” She asked Lavinia as they slowly approached the village. “I think I will need some new shoes. The ones I have are not meant for walking down the roads.”
“Well, I can buy you some new shoes.” Lavinia promised. “I think I need a pair myself. Once we find a shop to rest in, we’ll think about buying something to handle the roads.”
“I wish I could walk as fast as Kian.” Alice nodded at their companion who was walking a few feet before them. He had a lot more stamina than either of them. Not even Light and Dark, who weren’t walking on the road, were able to keep up with him. She called out to him to get him slow down. “Kian wait for us!”
He stopped and turned around, seeing how far they. “I apologize, Miss Alice! Sometimes I get a little carried away and forget that others are with me.”
“It’s all right! I do think we need to stop though. I need better shoes because look at this.” She got closer and showed him the soles of her shoes. They were worn out and slowly coming undone. He winced when he saw how bruised and dirty her heels were. “The seams are falling apart. I fear I won’t be able to walk much further this way. I need another pair like this”
“No, you need studier shoes,” Kian noted. “The roads don’t get much easier than this and we may have to climb some hills and mountains. You need shoes that withstand something like that. I will look around the village and see if anyone is selling these shoes. I don’t think they’ll need anything since they won’t be walking.” He looked up at Light and Dark. “Now come. We are still so far from where we need to be.”
Alice tried to ignore the pain in her heel as the soles wore out. These shoes worked fine for working in a bakery but Kian was right. There was no way she could climb a mountain wearing them and they were not going to protect her feet from the cold. She just needed to walk a little further and find an inn where she could rest in. It would also be nice for her get a warm bath and meal. The last time that she had eaten was the night before and her stomach was starting to make sounds.
“I’m not sure what I want to do first when we get into the village; eat, take a bath, buy shoes, or rest,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes. “I didn’t get much sleep earlier. I’m struggling to keep my eyes open right now.”
“I feel the same way.” Lavinia stifled a yawn. “I’m not used to waking up before the sun comes out. Usually, all the servants are awake as well and I can hear them moving about. Not this time. Everyone had gone to bed and none of the guards were near my room.”
“What do you think is going on in town, Vinnie?” Alice asked. “Do you think that people are panicking and wondering where we went? I mean, I told Tamara and the other workers that I would be gone for a trip. So did Kian. What did you tell them?”
Lavinia took a deep breath. “I didn’t tell anyone anything. Not even my mother or father knows where I’ve gone. I couldn’t tell them what I was planning because they would try to stop me.”
“I understand that but now people might be after us. Word will spread, won’t it? They’ll be looking for the missing princess of Themasa.”
“That’s the thing. Most of the people don’t know what I look like. I’m not dressed as royalty here.”
“Nonetheless, we have to be very careful. If they don’t know about you, they will soon enough. They may send someone after you.” Alice warned her. “Let’s just get inside of this village now. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get a good meal if nothing else.”
Within a few minutes, they had made it into the village and Lavinia stared at everything with wide eyes. It was so clear that she had never stepped out of the castle because she was barely able to stay still. She looked at all the open shops and people that were walking around. She was amazed by all the food, clothes, and supplies that were being sold. She wanted to throw gold coins at everything and get of what the shop keepers were selling. Kian had gone off to find a good inn to rest in while she and Alice looked around. Light and Dark had disappeared to somewhere, but she knew they were around. All the people most likely frightened them, so they went into hiding.
She wasn’t bothered by their disappearance right now because there was so much to see in the village. She was having fun watching the people moving about with their daily activities and start their work. A part of her wanted to approach them and ask them what they were doing but she resisted. Kian had said that it was best not to draw any attention to themselves. Villagers would know when someone wasn’t from their village. They had to be polite and treat everyone here with respect.
“Isn’t this incredible?!” She exclaimed as she watched some shop owners opening their store and setting up things outside. She was in love with a bright colored scarf that was on display and it only cost three gold coins. “You know what? I think I’m going to buy that.”
“It is beautiful.” Alice agreed. “I wish I could afford something like that but I’m saving up the coins for what I feel is more important.”
“You don’t think a scarf to protect you from cold weather is important?”
“I have one already, Vinnie.” She tugged on the thin, ratty brown scarf around her neck. “Granted, it’s a little worn out and old but it will have to do. I don’t have enough coins to afford any luxuries right now.”
“That scarf won’t be enough to keep your neck warm from the cold. That material is so light.” Lavinia pointed out. “I think you need one, Alice. You should get one.”
“Oh no, I cannot do that! We’re supposed to spend our coins on things like nights in an inn and meals and other supplies that we’ll need. I’ll get a scarf on another day.” Alice decided. “Now I’m going to go and look at an inn with Kian. Feel free to look around in the shops but we’re going to meet at the tavern in about fifteen minutes. If you get there before us, just find a table and sit there. Order something to drink if you need to.”
“I can do that.” Lavinia promised. “You don’t need to worry about anything, Alice. I will just look at the shops and meet you in the tavern.”
Alice seemed to approve of that and she went off to join Kian in hopes of finding a good inn. Looking around the area, it didn’t seem like anyone recognized her, which was good. No one minded that she was looking at things and checking everything out. As long as she didn’t linger in one place for long, no one would get suspicious. Word of her disappearance obviously hadn’t spread yet because there was nothing tacked up nor was anyone talking about it. By now, she was far from Themasa, so it would take a while before this news spread.
Her eyes went to that scarf and what Alice had said earlier. The ratty old scarf that she wore wasn’t going to do. If it got incredibly cold, that was not going to protect her. She would get sick quickly and that would slow them down. The coins were there for important things and truthfully this was important. They needed warm clothes and she knew she had plenty of gold coins to spend on this. Giving up three coins would not hurt.
There was still time, so she went inside the store and got a better look at the other scarves. All of them had been hand-made by the owner and the majority of items were priced between three to five gold coins. While they were all beautiful, her eyes were on the one that had been in the window. It was a brightly colored knit scarf covered with butterflies and flowers. This was so much better than the brown scarf that Alice had. Another one that she liked was a blue one that h
ad snowflakes on it. This one, she would buy for Kian. She had seen the scarf he was wearing, and it was no better. She needed both of them to stay healthy and strong when braving the cold.
There was a third scarf that she chose to buy for herself. It was a green one that had leaves and vines knitted on it. She didn’t know why she was drawn to it, but it was the one that she wanted the most. All of these scarves cost three coins each, so she decided to buy them. Alice and Kian would be a little shocked by their gifts, but she had plenty of coins left over. After all, she was a princess. If there was one thing she would have, it was wealth. There was no need to worry about money because she had enough of it.
As she bought the scarves, the shop owner gave her a warm smile and took the nine gold coins from her. She also noted Lavinia’s gloved hands. “Aren’t you feeling a little warm, dear? The sun is going to come up and it will get hot.”
“I will be fine.” Lavinia insisted. She was used to wearing gloves almost everywhere that the heat didn’t bother her. “Besides, I’ll be heading up north and I know it will snow there. That’s why I’m buying these scarves. You can never be too prepared.”
“That is true. Be careful if you are going up there. The last I heard, there was a blizzard and the mountains have become covered in ice. People are having a difficult time walking down the roads. If I were you, I would get some boots sturdy enough to walk on ice in the shop a few doors down.”
“I am on the hunt for new shoes, so I will look into that,” Lavinia promised. “Thank you so much for your help.”
“Thank you for buying the scarves. Business has been very slow lately and I don’t get as many customers now,” she sighed. “Then again, things have been hard for everyone these days.”
“In what way?”
“People don’t come down here because we don’t have enough crops for food and the stream doesn’t have enough water in it. Livestock has been dying out too mostly due to lack of food and the weather. I started knitting just to help get a little more money for my family. I hoped that opening up my own shop would be enough. It turns out that it’s not.”
“I’m sorry.” Lavinia apologized. “Has the village ever tried to reach out to the nearest kingdom for help?”
“Oh, we have asked for help and we’re told that we’ll get it. Unfortunately, the help either comes too late or it never comes at all. The reason for that is usually because they have to cross through the woods and mountains, which are not very safe. Animals will often eat the food when no one is looking or something will fall into the river. Those types of things have happened before. That’s why we’ve started to rely on each other. Even children have been helping out in stores when they should be playing. It’s quite tragic. Everyone is working but it’s not enough.”
“Indeed.” Lavinia was making mental notes about these things in her mind. She couldn’t understand why Themasa was doing so poorly with trading here. Her father and mother were keeping too much from her and it needed to stop. “Well, I will see what I can do for you while I’m here. Is there any food that you need? Perhaps some clean water or food for any livestock?”
“Oh no, I couldn’t anything from you!” The shop owner shook her head. “The coins that you gave me are good enough. Buying something from me is worth it. You are a good person and I thank you for all you’ve done. I hope the rest of your journey goes well.”
“Thank you. Be well.”
Lavinia left the shop with the three scarves and started to head to the tavern. She had made out of the store in time, but her mind was on what the owner had said. The village was not in the best state and it needed her help. It needed help from Themasa and every nearby kingdom. She couldn’t understand why help was getting delayed. Clearly, there was something darker in these woods that people weren’t telling her about. She also didn’t understand why her father hadn’t sent much over. She had never heard of Themasa doing anything for a village or any towns. Now she was beginning to worry there were bigger problems out there.
She found herself a table in the tavern and ordered a drink while waiting for Alice and Kian. A part of her wanted to check out every single shop and see how they were all doing. She had a good feeling that most of them were like the shop owner she had met. They were all trying to get by and do enough to get by. She didn’t dare to ask how much the poor woman made in a day, but she could understand it wouldn’t be enough. Perhaps a few more gold coins left at the shop would help her out.
When I relieve myself of this curse, the first thing I will do is fix the problems that are plaguing nearby villages and kingdoms. She told herself as she drank some water. I can’t understand why Father hasn’t done much for this village. Does he not care? Doesn’t it bother him that there are people who can’t eat? I have to take care of this. Even if I have to do it by myself, I’ll do it.
Another thing that bothered her was that rivers were drying up. It wasn’t that warm for this to happen so why wasn’t there enough water? She hadn’t heard about the drought before and now she was worried. There had to be a way to bring water back into this village. That was another thing that she needed to take care.
“Vinnie!”
She looked up to find Alice and Kian walking over to her table. Both of them looked excited about something. “Oh, I’m glad to see you! Were you able to get a room in the inn?”
“Yes,” Kian nodded. “The room is rather small, but I think it will be good enough for the night. I was able to find someone to give us a ride to the next town. He’s going there tomorrow morning and was willing to take us as well. He said that the road there isn’t any better, so it will be much easier traveling with him.”
“That’s good to know. I don’t think I would want to keep walking with the shoes I have.”
“Ah, that’s another thing. We also stopped by a shoe shop and it turns out that they have much sturdier shoes there. If you would like, we can go and try on a pair,” Alice said. “I’ve been told multiple times that it’s better to have these shoes if we’re going to climb mountains.”
“That’s good to know,” Lavinia said. Then another thought came into mind. “How is the shoe shop doing in terms of business?”
It was an odd question, but Alice was able to answer it. “I think they are able to sell a pair of shoes each day. That’s still not enough though and the prices are incredibly low for them. It’s only two gold pieces for a pair of shoes.”
“You’re right. That’s too little for a pair of shoes,” Lavinia murmured. “Why are they selling them for that price?”
“I talked to the owner briefly and he said this is the best way he can sell anything.” Kian explained. “He’s tried putting up the price but then no one came in. Two gold pieces is sometimes all people have with them. Even still, he did admit he didn’t get many customers either. Sometimes, only two people would come in the entire day.”
“Two people?” Lavinia was horrified to learn this. “No, this can’t be right. This is not a way for anyone to survive.”
“I agree but they have to do what they can. They’re not getting much help elsewhere.” He narrowed his eyes at that. “Not even Themasa has sent much help.”
“That’s what I don’t understand. My father should have sent help over here if this village reached out to him. It’s not like him to ignore anything either. He’s sent help to other towns before. Why would he ignore this?”
“I don’t know but that’s what I’ve been trying to find out. I’ve been trying to do whatever I can to help some of these villages,” he whispered, leaning in so she could hear. “That was my real reason for stealing. I’ve been hearing about this for a long time and I don’t want to wait for help to come anymore. Too many people are suffering so I’m trying to get them things they can sell for money.”
Lavinia did understand that even though she didn’t agree with his methods. There had to be a better way to help this village. “I have a bad feeling this is not the only place that n
eeds help.”
“It’s not.” Kian agreed. “I’ve seen similar problems all over. Unfortunately, it’s difficult for me to travel everywhere and keep track. I try what I can, and I have friends in other towns, but we can’t do it alone.”
“You shouldn’t have to do it alone,” Alice said. “Well, I’m going to see if we can help some of these people out while we’re here. We can buy some supplies that can hopefully give them a little money to get buy.”
“I thought the same thing. In fact, I bought something for both of you.” Lavinia handed them the packages. “I know you said that this was unnecessary, but I think it will be important when we’re going through the blizzards. I would hate to see you get sick.”
“Vinnie…” Alice began.
“No, I insist you keep these. I think they will be of use. Besides, I do have more coins than both of you and I had to help that shop owner out. She told me that she didn’t get very many customers either and her family could use the money. I think she almost cried when I gave her nine gold coins. That should be able to get them a few things.”
