Village Tales Book 1 A Measure of Breeding
Alexia: Persuasions and Passions
Part 3
5. Journey to Saint Michel (beginning)
Dawn broke in the stable and the girls were wakened by the sun streaming through the cracks in the wall. The three girls, still weary from their night time exertions, rolled groggily from their blankets and dressed quickly in the cold morning air. Climbing down the ladder from the loft, the women splashed cold water from the trough onto their faces to wash away the traces of sleep. Ulric invited them into his kitchen and the women were surprised to discover that he had made hot pancakes and tea for them. The girls ate hungrily and Ulric uncharacteristically, smiled as they wolfed the food down.
"Well, we must be going, if we are to reach the monastery today" he grumbled, and hustled the women outside and into his heavy cart. It was barely minutes after the town gates were opened that they rumbled out of the town and onto the open road. Ulric offered the women a swig of wine from his wineskin, grinning amiably as they each drank a little.
His attitude to the women seemed totally different from the previous evening and Alana was tempted to surmise that he had been out of sorts. The rocking of the old cart had a soporific effect on the women and Alana kept jolting awake as her head slumped forward. Ulric pulled some old blankets from behind the seat and pointed out to her that if she rolled them up she could pack them against the side of the cart and use them as a pillow. Alana thanked him and was soon fast asleep.
Ulric looked back over his shoulders towards the women in the back of the cart and found them asleep too. His eyes were drawn to the slim legs of Alana as he turned back. He touched her leg briefly as he moved his hand from the back of the seat. When she didn't stir he became more bold, resting his hand on her knee. Her lack of response to this convinced him that potion he had given the girls had taken effect. As he stroked his hand against the smooth inner surface of her thigh he thought back to when he had acquired the substance he had added to the wine.
6. Ulric's Tale
Ulric had been travelling through the forest outside of Olfberg late one evening when he had inexplicably lost his way. Sighting a small cottage he had ridden to it and knocked on the door hoping to get directions. The door had been answered by a middle aged woman who had invited him in. The house was full of plants and herbs. Their redolence was almost too much to bear, however, he soon got used to it. After asking and receiving directions to town he asked the woman what it was she did there.
"Oh, I collect all manner of plants and herbs and spices to make my potions and lotions and unguents".
"And what do you do with these lotions and such."
"Sell them, what else?"
"Do they work?"
"Do they work?" she said coming right up to him "How old do you think I am?"
"Well I don't want seem ungracious but about forty?"
"More like seventy, young'un"
He stared at the woman. She certainly didn't look seventy. A person so old was almost unheard of in world.
"Here," she said holding a jar up filled with a yellowish powder "you look like a randy'un. Why don't you buy some of this. Guaranteed to get you any woman you want."
"You mean a love potion".
"Love? What's love got to do with anything. All you men care about is if it gets them to lift up their skirts and open their pretty legs for you." she said "This will not only do that, but they'll open up their little honey pots, let you put your stinger in, prime them with your pump and care naught for the consequences. What's more they won't even remember who it was or what you did after you're gone."
He felt his cock stiffen as she said this.
"Come on, mother if you had something like that you could make your fortune".
"Who says I haven't?"
"How much is it?"
"For you, ten coppers, twelve if you want some of this lotion. Put this behind your ears and it'll really get their juices stirred."
"Seems like an awful lot for something I don't know works".
"Take it or leave it."
"Alright I'll take a bottle and the lotion."
"You can mix it with almost anything. Two small spoons per person. Give it about fifteen to twenty minutes to take effect. It will last about three hours before the effects start to wear off. But be careful, the more you use it on a person the easier they will surrender and the more attached to you they will become."
Ulric snatched up the bottle and was soon on his way, the laughter of the old woman still rankling in his ears.
"You're a fool, Ulric, to believe such lies." He thought
The next day he decided to try out his potion. He would now know how the old woman had cheated him, selling him worthless dust. But it was worth a try. Ulric had been eyeing a girl, Rona, in the village for some time but she had made it clear to him that she did not favour him. Her father and brother watched her like a hawk, counting on a good marriage to consolidate their fortune.
Today was a good time to visit as her father and brother were on a hunting expedition and were not expected back for several days. Ulric baked some of his scones which were quite famous in the village and rubbed a little of the lotion behind his ears. Rona and her family lived beyond the edge of the village in a small cottage surrounded by tall mature fir trees.
Taking a circuitous route he arrived at Rona's door. When Rona answered the door it was obvious from her face that she had not expected to find him there and that she was not very happy to see him.
"I brought you some scones" he said "I thought that seeing as your father and brother are not around, some homecooking would not go amiss".
She eyed the steaming bundle he held and indeed the wafting aroma of the scones did make her feel a little hungry.