Briar

Ch. 9 Somewhere

“The world is a lot bigger than I thought it would be.” Jilly clucked her amusement. “May be it would be smaller if someone didn’t waddle so slowly.” Jilly snapped playfully at her. Rose laughed.
They had been on the rode for about a month now and had barely gotten anywhere. They’d passed a few villages and that was about it. The people in them weren’t too friendly either. Either all they wanted was the cash in the bottom on Rose’s bag. Or they wanted to give her cash for the, “nice big goose.” And people did not like hearing that her goose was not for sale. It was a good thing that Jilly suck like glue to her in town, or else someone might have attempted to snatch her.
Rose much preferred the open plains and damp forests to the towns. On the road people were friendly, wanting company during the night and willing to share their food and fire with two little girls. With Jillian’s impeccable manners, it was hard for anyone to deny her. And Rose used that to her full advantage. But after a while the road was the road and Rose longed for a nice bed and some warm bread. Going on a week now, there had been nothing but heavy forests and an ever increasing slope.
Rose sglanced up; it was hard to tell the exact placement of the sun inside the trees, but it was a testament to how long she had been in the woods that she knew the sun was only a few minutes from going under the horizon. Rose waited while Jilly pulled herself together. They always made sure they were alone at the sun’s transitions. They might stay the night with someone, but they made sure to head out before dawn. It would not do at all for an outsider to see her predicament.
“We should check the map before it gets too dark.”
Rose pulled off her pack, and grabbed the map which was conveniently on the top of their stuff, probably because they consulted it an insane amount for people who were basically wandering. She spread it out between the two of them. The thing was so big that when Jilly was a goose Rose had to spread it out on the ground. But it had been the only one they could find in the castle. It was pretty old, but you could only tell because of the hand writing and texture of the paper. The boundaries and things were completely recent. They were represented in different colors, with mountains and forest groves in the paper; lakes and oceans could be seen in blue. Even storms seemed to be a gray salt and pepper substance. But most importantly all the cities were black dots.
“If we continue on this road we should be able to make this town in enough time to get a room.”
“Good the ground is starting to annoy me.”
Jilly was surprisingly good at reading maps. She said that her father had taught her so that she’d always know where he was and how to get to back home if anything happened.
“And look, Rose, it’s on the board. By tomorrow we’ll be in, Jubbllelard?”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Neither have I. It seems to be a pretty small kingdom. But it’s there.”
There it was in clean sight. She hadn’t seen it before, probably because it was surrounded by 5 large countries, and from the grooves, it also seemed to be on the top of a range of mountains. That would explain the up hill territory.
“That’s so surprising,” Jilly added. “Usually a small country like this would have been taken over a long time ago by its larger neighbors. I wonder what’s so special about this place.”
“We won’t know until we get there, will we?” Rose had an adventurous gleam to her eye that Jilly didn’t really like, but she timidly smiled back.
Together they folded the map like a blanket. Before they put it back though, Rose got out a long cloak for Jillian. She rapped it around herself, hiding her fine dress. Jilly hated that she had to travel in the thing, especially in the humid weather, but it was better than getting mugged over a dress that would turn into feathers at dawn anyway. Rose strapped her sack back on.
“Good to go?”
“Ummmhmm.” And then they were off.
Nights in the forest were scarier than the days, but with a human Jilly beside her, it wasn’t that bad. Trees loomed far above their heads and swayed in the hot summer wind. After about a half an hour, dim light shone sluggishly through the trees.
“We’re almost there.”
“Yep, I hope that we can still get some dinner. What I wouldn’t give for a bowl of soup.” Rose responded. “Step it up woman.”
Jilly laughed but walked with a bit more spring to her step.
“I can only take that to mean that you are excited too.”
They reached the town just as it was becoming ridiculously hard to see. In the mountains even when the moon was full it was hard to see the whole night through. As usual for these small towns farming towns, the streets were almost empty. The only activity in the town was coming from the tavern. It was brightly lit, and Jilly could hear a faint music coming from within.
Rose opened the door to the simple wooden building. The smell of meat hit her nose, and her stomach growled. One man was pounding on a piano and there were a few men at the bar belting out a song that could barely be made out over their slur. Smoke wafted in the air, and a couple of girls walked around the tables checking to see if anyone wanted anything. This place was a lot more lively than the other towns they had been in. Jilly explained that boarder towns had big trade, people from both sides came to exchange their wares.
Jilly spotted a table in the back, and she directed them to it. They sat down, thankful that there were actually chairs this time. After a few minutes, one of the girls came over, “Well, watcha yall want tonight?”
Rose answered, “We’ll have whatever is on. It smells very good. We’ll want water though, not ale. We’ve got to leave early, but we’re still looking for a place to stay. Do you know someplace?”
The waitress just nodded, normal fare. “No problem. I’ll send Ma over t’ ya’ll. She’ll set ya up.”
She left for the back where she would get their meals and this Ma. They talked quietly between themselves until an older somewhat plump woman with a drawn mole on her left lip came up to them.
“I hear ya twa are lookin’ for a place to stay.”
“Yep.”
“Got the mona to back it up.”
“Of course, we also have money to pay for our meal. How much do you plan on charging us, if ya don’t mind me askin’?”
“Not much, just the norm, say 20 for the meals and 60 for the two rooms.”
“It seems to me that you’ve made some miscalculations. We will only be using one room for the night, and although my sister and I have money we don’t have enough to just lay down 50 in one night.”
“I guess I could go down to 45. ‘N are ya sure about that single room? Wouldn’t ya both like a piece of our nice fine beds?”
“No the one room will be fine. But it’s still too much. We’re nothin’ but simple country folk. At the end of our barrel. I could give ya maybe 30.”
“I could do 35.”
“Deal.”
“Ya’ll be in the room at the top of the stairs second door to the left. And I’ll be expecting that money before the night is done. Well played young lady.”
“You too, Madam. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Look’s like ya’ll’s food’s here. If ya need anythin’ just ask Sarsaparilla.” She slapped a hand on the shoulder on their waitress. “She’s a good girl.”
“Thanks again.”
Sarsaparilla put down two plates each had a slab of meat, some carrots, and a cut of bread. Rose’s stomach growled right on time.
“And here’s da water.” Both of the noses on Sarsaparilla and Ma’s faces crinkled at the thought of drinking the stuff. Jilly giggled a little.
“So the other one does have a voice.” Ma sounded shocked.
Rose put an arm around her, “She’s my lil sister, you know how it is. They’re always shy.” Jilly’s head turned down.
“Yea, I knows the type.”
“They don’t survive long in these border towns.” The two ladies wandered off laughing, completely unimpressed with the little Jillian, and that was exactly how Rose liked it.
Rose and Jilly quickly finished their meal, paid Ma, and went to bed. They shared the bed. They were both tiny girls and after the first few nights in separate rooms they found it to be a waste of money for them each to get a room.
Jillian’s early morning change woke them both up which was for the best. It would be unlikely that they same people that were working the night before would be up this early. They packed up silently and went downstairs. Jilly made sure to stick close. There was only one man downstairs, and they got a small breakfast from him before heading on their way.
The town was basically like any other, may be a few more stops or stands. But there were still men out there screaming about their wares and women laughing about with large baskets buying. There were only a few calls about the goose, and Rose ignored them. Rose walked quickly; she had learned that if she looked uninterested than they wouldn’t be interested in her.
They were only a few feet from the town before there was a barricade. Soldiers swarmed all over it.
“I guess this is the boarder.” Rose slowly walked up; Jilly waddling behind her. As soon as the soldiers saw that she was actually coming their way, they perked up a little. Women loved a man who was dutiful.
“Can I get through here?”
“Depends,” was the curt reply.
“Depends on what?”
“On what, you plan on doin’ in our fine country.”
Rose raised an eyebrow. They were afraid of a little girl like her getting into their country, “I was going to look for work.”
The guard looked her up and down. This scrawny thing doing the hard manual labor of the mountains?
“Not that type of work.”
“Well, if that’s not what you’re looking for you won’t find much of anything. It’s mostly small mountain towns up there, but if you go up this road and keep going up. And keep going up. You’ll eventually get to the Valley. That’s were our King lives. There’s the castle and a town up there. If you want a job, that’s the place to go.”
“Thank you sir.”
“I’ll need to see your bag before you go on through.”
“Sure.” Rose handed the bag over and made sure to watch the man. Even soldiers steal.
“Everything seems good here. And since you’re so pretty, I’ll give you a little advice. When you first get to the capital, Rindville, it’s called. Wait until a Sunday because the King has an open court. Tell him why you’re here, and if he likes you, he’ll give you a job at the palace. If not, he’ll see what he can do on the outside. Either way it’s your best bet to get a job. Me cousin did it a few years back. Workin’ as a maid now, likes it a lot. Said the King’s a good man.”
“Have a good day.”
Rose walked by the soldier and into Jubbllelard. He looked behind him to get a look at her behind, but all he ended up seeing was a goose.
“She had a goose with her.” He laughed, “That’s the quietest goose I’ve ever even heard of. And black on to boot. I didn’t know geese came in black.” They were an odd pair: a short but pretty girl in a very brown and very stained dress traveling with a black and apparently stubborn goose.
It was not a particularly difficult route to get to the castle, but it was hard on the body. Jilly was a fine lady and not too used to constant exercise and had a hard time and an even harder time when in goose form. Even Rose who had spent the majority of her days working for years had a hard time of it. They were both thankful that they had had the training of the last month’s wanderings. It was slow going up the mountains. After the border town the road suddenly shot up and just kept going up. It was completely barren, the only good thing had been the view, seeing the lush forests spread out beneath the clouds. They had been traveling for about two weeks when suddenly without warning the road flattened. Within a few miles of the top of the plateau, there was vegetation everywhere. They could see the beginnings of farms in the distance. There still weren’t many trees but there was an overabundance of bushes and things. At night when, Jilly and Rose would be laying down to go to sleep they would look at the stars. The sky was so clear up in the mountains; they felt like they could see the whole heavens. The two of them were sleeping outside for a while. Once onto the plateau it was another week of travel before they came to the city.
Rindville was as big of a city as they had seen. It was an actual capital, full of buildings, paved streets, and in the center there was a stretch of nothing and then a castle. Not a castle like Numberland, but a well kept one that had obviously been cleaned in the past hundred years. That meant that it was also a short of white instead of the dusty brown of Numberland. Rose wondered where they had gotten white stone all the way up here. Perhaps there was limestone in the mountains.
The people on the edge of town were a bit taken aback to see outsiders come into the place. But once they were into the city a little no one noticed them. Rose headed straight for the castle. Although they hadn’t really planed it, they had arrived in the city on a Sunday and Rose fully intended to follow the soldier’s advice.
The wooden doors of the castle were wide open, but stone wall surrounding the palace grounds had more men than Rose had seen in the past three weeks. There was a gravel path that lead to the castle proper. The grounds were mostly cultured lawns and a few trees, but Jilly suspected and Rose knew there had to be a few good gardens within the place. They kept going and came to two double doors that lead immediately into a long hallway with a throne at the end of it. Bright tapestries hung along the narrow room, and the country’s flag was hanging on either side of the throne. There seemed to be an elder man relaxing on the large seat, but Rose couldn’t see him well since there was a line to him. Rose figured they were in the right place.
The line moved quickly and efficiently. By the time they came to the head of the line, Rose had gained respect for the man. He had maintained his cool and settled disputes in a fair and honest manner. He was a good man, if not a good king. Rose was slightly ashamed that she had not thought to change her clothes or at least wash up before presenting herself.
“And what is your problem?”
Rose looked at the man on the throne. He was frail like man old people, and Rose could see the veins on his hands even from her distance. His hair was white but still full under his crown. He was a thin man, and age had not helped him there. For the majority he seemed to be completely unremarkable, if not for his crown Rose wouldn’t have given him a second thought. The only thing that drew Rose was his eyes. There was sadness. They were a deep blue that seemed to be constantly shifting between tears and a bright blue sky.
“I have no problem except for a financial deficiency, Your Highness.”
“We do not give hand outs.”
“Oh! I was not expecting one. I was told that you might be able to help me find some work. I’m a very hard worker. I can do just about anything. I grew up in service, of sorts. There were very few of us so I know everything. I can cook, clean, polish, wash, hang, watch-”
“Yes, yes … I’m sure you can young lady.” Rose blushed from both embarrassment at having gone on so long and from the praise.
“I would be willing to do anything.”
“I have no doubt considering your attire.” Rose’s rosy cheeks got even redder.
“I did not want to miss the … er …,” Rose cast her eyes around looking for the right word, “counseling?”
The King’s smile was slow to start, but like a rolling stone it was hard to stop. Soon enough he was laughing. The sentinels by his aid looked so surprised that Rose began to laugh as well. Their voiced echoed in the hall until they had died off in whimpers. Everyone in the room seemed quite shocked. Rose and Jilly were very confused by their reaction, wasn’t it a good thing that their King laughed?
Wiping his face a little, the King asked, “And what is the story of your little friend?”
“This is Jilly. She’s a very good goose.”
“I can see that. She hasn’t made a peep or a poop the entire time you’ve been here.”
“Yes she’s a very good girl. We’ve been traveling together. She makes a very good companion. If it’s not asking too much, sir, I would like very much to be in a place where I wouldn’t have to give her up to someone else’s care.”
“I think we could arrange that. It happens that our goose girl retired in favor of marriage. Do you think you could do her job?”
“I think I could. I watched eleven other geese back home, and I was very good at it.”
“And you won’t go getting married too soon, will you?” This was his slightly impolite joke about how young children were marring these days, but Rose’s eyes fell, and the King immediately regretted his joking words. It was obvious that the girl was running from something and from the look in her eye she was much older than she looked.
“It’s alright. You don’t have to talk about it.” Rose rose grateful blue globs. “Now if you’ll just follow Fredrick here he’ll take you to Marie, the housekeeper.” Rose stared to walk off, “And one more thing, dear. What’s you name?”
“Rose Happershap.”
A flash of pain crossed the King’s face before he pulled himself together and responded, “Welcome to Jubbllelard. I’m King Sander.” When Rose just stood there looking at him for a time, he gave her a gentle push, “Now run along.” The girl’s embarrassedly surprised face was so expressive that King Sander was laughing lightly as the next subject came forward.


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sorry it's late again ... I'm just a horrible person, but you gotta be happy cause we're actually getting somewhere things are happening and such. Thanks for reading