Three
Fool me once shame on me, fool you twice...?
I awoke in the early dawn. The sun yet to broach the horizon, but casting its rosy glow high into the cloud speckled sky.
Sissy was lying across me; her head nestled into my shoulder, her arm curled around my neck, her hips across mine and her foot wedged twixt my knees.
I reached over and smoothed her hair, still tangled from its wash the eve before. Still asleep she smiled snuggling her head into my shoulder, trying to burrow into my armpit.
I gently shook her shoulder and she stirred, tilting her head to look at me with sleepy eyes. She started to rise; there was a sharp pain in my thigh as we parted. She also felt it for I saw the signs on her face. I threw back the cover and sat up, revealing that her blood had caked and stuck our skins together.
I looked at her and saw her eyes on me.
"It seems your blood would make us one," I observed dryly.
Her laugh peeled out infectiously, and my laughter joined in hers, as we fell together arms about one another.
I released her and rolled to the side of the bed, feet to the ground. Bringing a washstand shimmering in to view. I stood, stepped to it, dipping the washcloth into the warm water. I sponged and scrubbed the dried blood from me.
Finishing, I rinsed the cloth, and turned to where she was sitting on the side of the bed. I bade her stand and cleaned her, rubbing hard to free the hair of blood.
She rubbed my chin and asked if I had brought a razor. I laughed again, and made one appear in my hand. She took it from me, and taking the soap from the stand, lathered my face.
The way she handled the razor told me that she had never used one before. To save my face, I took it from her, having her hold the mirror before me instead.
I showed her the correct way to hold it, and how to angle it to the skin. She watched as I finished the shave, throwing the blade into the sky to have it disappear. She clapped her hands and her delicious laughter peeled again.
I had little experience with women's things, and so could not make the hairbrush she requested. She had to make do with the simple comb that I used.
It took a good twenty minutes and much complaining before I beautified her unruly locks and we looked to breakfast.
I argued against trying for more fish, saying that we had wasted enough time already. But she insisted, saying that what little dried meat we had left would serve as the mid-day meal.
The sun was one third up the sky before we gratefully finished the last portions of the fish, washed down with the very last of the cider. Though we still had the bottle of brandy.
Ready for the journey at last I considered how we should garb ourselves that day, she would walk without, her cloth strapped tween her legs, and the cloak wrapped round her, I would ask her to not to bother putting her cloths on, I could create a bowl of warm water and sponge whenever she needed. She could wash herself with that as necessary. But civilisation and possible observation could be a short walk downstream. I clothed me once again in the peasant dress of a sheeplie herder.
We followed the widening rivulet while the sun climbed higher in the sky. The surrounding lands turning lush as hedgerows and stone walls began dividing up the open countryside.
We finally came to the junction of our rivulet and the broad expanse of a major river. This was the mighty Slith.
We retreated a little way back so she could wash herself one last time, and I conjured more cloths for the last part of the day's journey.
On our side, tangled vegetation reached down to the river's edge. On the far side I could see a tow path for the equinininys who pulled the barges up and down, between the towns.
I would much prefer that we were on the side with the towpath. Emboldened by my previous successes with the bathtub and bed the previous eve, I focused on creating one of those little boats, coracles; I had seen the fisher folk use them on the lower lake.
I was greatly pleased when the small round boat appeared on the bank before us. We dragged it into the river, and I bid her enter as I held it steady. As she entered it wobbled violently, and I shouted for her to sit quickly.
I saw the incongruity of her dress as a sheeplie herder, and changed our clothes to the ones of the common folk of our castle.
I was extra careful as I entered, crouching low till I was seated on the plank opposite her. The boat drifted out into the main current, with the clumsy assistance of my paddling. She complained twice that I splashed her but I ended up wetter.
As the boat drifted with the flow, we were passed thrice by barges travelling up the other way. We waved acknowledgement as they ploughed slowly against the current, the mighty equinininys straining under the load.
The sun was a quarter before setting as we saw the cottages, marking the outskirts of the town. I stroked side for side as we manoeuvred our way to the bank, splashing less as I became more skilled, finally gaining reach of the grass that grew at its edge.
Whilst I held us steady, she crawled over the side and onto the bank. I followed, and ended up wetting myself up to the knees, as the small boat tipped over.
Fortunately no one was around to witness my embarrassment, but Sissy laughed till her sides hurt as I scrambled out.
I swapped the wet clothes for dry, and held out my hand to her. We walked down the path into the town. Evening was coming on and we decided that the best course was to find a small inn with food, and a bed to spend the night.
Looking around at the townsfolk, I realised that our garb made us stand out too much, and I took us into a shaded alley where I created new for us. I still had the few coins that I had removed from the dead soldiers tucked in to the pocket of the cloak, I hoped that would be enough. I didn't want to dupe these people with false coin if I could help it.
We found an ancient inn near the centre of the town, paid for a bed with a silver coin, while two coppers paid for a nourishing stew, with bread and a small beer each.
In the bedroom was a straw bed, with a feather cover that two nights ago would have been heaven, but was not as grand as the one we shared the previous eve.
We spent the night quietly, but comfortably, our naked bodies entwined. I woke her as the crowing cockrelic woke me. After washing our bloodied bodies and dressing, we breakfasted on scrambled eggs and some beverage, brewed from leaves, which tasted pleasant enough.
We wandered the town awhile, till we found the river bank. I enquired about boats travelling to Boughtnock. Fortune smiled upon us, as I discovered that a fast boat was due to leave that morn, and there was still space for deck passengers. The fare was more than I had left. But it was the local agent was collecting the monies, and we would be long gone before he would discover that my money had vanished.
We had an hour or so before the boat left, so we returned to the town centre, where I spent my few coppers on provisions for the journey.
Boarding the boat early, we saw that other passengers had made themselves comfortable amongst the coils of ropes on the deck, and we did likewise. The journey would last a day and a half, with an overnight stay tied to the bank where sunset found us.
The rowers were on the deck below and we heard the steady splash, as we made progress down the broad river. Staying to the centre, clear of the barges that plied the side, we made good progress. The day went easy. I had bought bread, cheese and fruits, and we consumed a portion of these for both our lunch, and our supper as the ship tied up for the night.
As we lay quietly, I overheard a conversation tween some fellow passengers. It was about how a wicked Princess, from one of the northern kingdoms, had murdered both her parents. They would not allow her to marry the man of her choice, some serving lad that had befuddled her mind, and then eloped with him.
It was a big scandal as he heard it; soldiers were, even now still looking for her. Fortunately Sissy was sleeping and I decided to keep it from her, as I feared that she might be so outraged by the fabrication, to protest it and give us away.
The morn passed easy, for about half an hour before we docked we saw cottages, then houses, lining both banks of the river.
The docks where we disembarked soon gave way to grand houses and shops, as we made our way into the city centre. I had but two coppers left, and a rumbling stomach, I didn't doubt that Sissy also was in need of nourishment.
