The Jaded Knight

Jack was almost too happy to be following the long way home today, it would almost definitely get her home quicker. Glancing back to the town she'd just left, a storm brewed and moved closer to her position, black, hot and menacing, she had been advised not to leave but the storm was not at all frightening compared to what would await her at home. The quick route, whilst shaving half a day off from her trek, was littered with blessed thistle, ginkgo, horsetail and many other herbs that would help cure the population of Guihed. Compulsively she would have spent the day picking them and examining them, bracing the storm and furthering her research into their medical properties. This would have resulted in her death. The storm would have been too strong for the girl to stay supported on the hard soil, and the down pour of rain would have nearly drowned her as she tried to take in gulping breaths, after days she would maybe get home. Jack was picturing untimely deaths - not by the storm, but with an assortment of farming equipment and most frightening, held by her mother. This is what awaited her. This little old woman, feared by the King, was why she had decided to take the long route homewards. In the end she would get home much faster.  She would live to see tomorrow.

Walking at a fast pace had never been natural and hurrying was Jack's most hated thing to do in the world - believing that everything had it's own time, and pace. Most likely because always she had been slower at catching on or acting then teachers and parents would have liked. Less then an hour away now, the frontier of the storm had caught up, rain lashed down upon her figure and hail struck from the back leaving bruises. The long journey had taken its toll on her rugged boots as a new hole wore through and each time the skin touched the ground it shivered with the contact of the cold wet soil. Her socks had gone missing a few days ago when Jack had fallen into a bog hence the naked feet under the boots. Stopping, for the first time in half a day and taking the skirt that she had earlier tied and used as a belt, she took her trousers off not caring if anyone was around. Always more comfortable in boys clothes, she had taken to carrying trousers in a bag so that when she was roughly an hour from the village she would change. Pulling on the wet skirt, she smiled at her cleverness - if the skirt had been left in the bag, it would have been dry. A wet shirt and dry skirt would have raised awkward questions. This was also for her mother's benefit who had always hoped that Jack would marry the prince; no doubt delivering her mother from a life lived on a farm with a calm, laidback and constantly drunk husband. Shaking the thought away she pulled the string from her hair to let it down, already annoyed at the long brown hair flapping and whipping around due to the fast winds. Her mind confused at why woman did what they did to get husbands but deciding not to waste valuable thinking time, it drifted towards the next few days.

Keeping her going so that she was not back one minute after her mother requested, were her plans for a night, two days away. It was the new Prince's coronation in three days; all the royalty and nobles were in town for a stop over. The journey to the royal city of Cathenis was a month's ride for some and many would be staying in the village tonight before the last day of travelling. There was to be a procession for the nobles staying tomorrow night and then a festival for the Prince's coronation. Everyone and anyone was allowed to go to Cathenis to celebrate, but whilst her mother, father and baby sister could afford the luxury, someone had to stay behind to look after the animals and not being yet 8, her sister got out of it by saying she was too little to even carry the water buckets. Jack wouldn't be there to celebrate the Prince's Coronation but her family would be out of the village for three days and someone else was staying behind with those that worked to live; Blake. Empty house, not much work to do, Blake around and some wine she had been keeping since her last birthday. She would hate to die before that.
 
"Hey stranger."