Rose sat back on her couch, the day nearing it's end and the sky outside her window a lovely mixture of pink and orange. Merry had been more settled, almost sedate, and Rose had to wonder what the child had on her mind. However, she'd sent the letter off to Rath and knew the man would see to keeping her out of trouble – which seemed to be her normal state of being.
After doing the chores, Rose had tended the savory stew that was to be their supper, while Merry bathed Althessia. From the open window, Rose could hear the baby giggling, and Merry's squeals of delight, as Zandrianna's daughter splashed in the small washbasin.
Merry came back inside, grinning from ear to ear and nearly as soaked, Althessia in her arms. Rose took one look at the pair and shook her head. “I'm not sure which of you took the bath, but you both need to get dry. Off with you,” she said, shooing them into the nursery with a chuckle.
Once Althessia was dried and laid down in her crib for the night, the women sat at the table, eating supper while they discussed the chores for the next day. Finally noticing the hour, and Merry's carefully concealed yawns, Rose stood and sent the girl home, before heading to the kitchen to prepare a warm drink before bed.
Now, her tea steeping on a small end table next to her, Rose looked down in her lap at the small journal that she'd found in Merry's possession. Of course, she thought, the whole thing could be a fabrication by this peddler Merry got it from, just to make few coins off a gullible buyer. Still, the journal had the appearance of being authentic, and not something a hawker would make up. Either way, the first few lines had her curious, and she opened the thick leather cover to continue reading.
The abandoned hut I found along the water provides little shelter from the weather, but at least I am hidden from the predators that roam the land – and the nearby village. At dusk I come out and try to hunt, though I am better with traps that spear or dagger. Tonight I will hunt fish with a net. The rations I took with me when I left my village will not last much longer, and what I have been able to forage from the surrounding bushes and trees as I travel does not go far.
The hunt last night was successful – and almost got me killed. I've not hunted fish with a net in some time, but after struggling to get it into the water I was able to remember the tricks I learned and soon I had a basket of fish. The scent, however brought to me a pair of wolves, both of them thin and starving. I held them at bay with my spear, but the look in their eyes said they would not leave willingly. As they came towards me, I glanced down at the basket and kicked it forward, sending fish flying everywhere. The wolves, torn between me and the feast spread before them, quickly decided that I was too much trouble and dove for the basket, soon busy tearing the offerings apart as they growled at each other. I grabbed the net up and fled back to the hut, thanking the huntsman for this narrow escape. I shall have to be more observant the next time.
Rose paused and rubbed her eyes, setting the book down to take a sip of her tea as she tried to imagine what it would be like to face wild wolves. She shudders at the thought, having once seen a wolf take down a neighbor's sheep. That this woman had faced this alone, Rose simply couldn't imagine doing the same.
Feeling the weight of the day, Rose closed the journal and set it aside. Can read more of it later, when I've time. She blew out the candles and headed to bed, the last line of the page still in her mind -
They're here … I must move again.
