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smackenzieThe problem with running off to the big city to fulfill some kind of random destiny, Hazel thought, was having to explain it to your aunt and uncle, who didn't want you to go because they didn't believe most of what your teacher said, and then having to explain it to your sweetheart, who didn't want you to go because he just didn't want you to go.
"What if something happens to you?" he asked her.
"Like what?"
"Like I don't know. The city is full of crazy people. You could be kidnapped. Murdered. Sold into slavery."
"You have got to be kidding me. People don't sell women into slavery any more, not around here. And there are enough crazy people in Redhill. I think I'm well prepared for that. Besides, I'll have Toast to protect me." She grinned. Toast was at that very moment nosing around in Hay's mother's garden. He seemed very interested in the tomato plants.
"Toast!" Hay yelled out the window. "Get away from the tomatoes! If he pisses on them, my mother is going to be really mad," he said to Hazel.
"He's not going to - Toast! Maybe you should go get the goat."
"Ha. Very funny." Hay stood up and went outside to rescue his mother's tomatoes. Hazel leaned out the window and watched Hay chase her dog out of the garden and around the house. They made a couple of circuits, Toast barking happily the entire time, and then Hay chased the dog inside.
"Silly dog," Hazel said, leaning down to rub his head. Toast barked. "You ate an hour ago. No." Toast seemed to pout. "Don't you make that face at me. I'm immune to your puppy-dog eyes."
"I can't believe you think he's going to protect you in the city," Hay observed.
"You can come with me."
"No I can't. I have work to do. Farms don't tend themselves."
"If I get into trouble I'll write home and you can come get me, how's that?"
"If you get into trouble you probably won't be able to write home."
Hazel sighed. "I'm not any more excited about this than you are. Marcus won't come with me either - he says I have to do it myself. I don't know how he thinks he's going to rate a mention in the histories if all he ever does is send me on my way. I'll be the one doing all the work." She patted Toast on the head absently. He licked her hand. "Well, in a year or so I guess I'll be famous."
"A YEAR??" Hay stared at her. "You're going to be gone a YEAR? Marcus is sending you away for a YEAR?" He'd planted both hands on the table and was leaning over it now, staring at her with something like shock and something like anger. Hazel just shrugged.
"I didn't say I'd be gone a year. The prince is in the city, it's not like I have to scour the countryside for him. There are charms I can use to try and locate him, or charms Marcus can use before I leave so I know where I'm going, and he has a distinctive birthmark which is how I'll know it's him. And once I find him all I have to do is get him back to court. I don't have to wait around while he prepares for the throne." She put her hand on top of Hay's. "It won't be a year. If it is you can kill Marcus for me. Either than or send him to help me."
"If you're gone a year I'll kill him for me. Do you really have to do this?"
"I really have to do this."
"Damn. Why?"
"Because it's my destiny." She tried to sound convincing. It wasn't that she entirely discounted what Marcus had said to her, but she wished she had a little more prompting besides just his words. A dream, a whisper of the trees, a black calf born to a dun-colored cow.... Pink tomatoes in Hay's mother's garden. A blue moon. A sudden, very early frost. Exotic flowers sprouting in a fallow field. Something besides Marcus putting on his farseer voice and declaiming fate for her.
Hay snorted. Hazel blinked. Usually he believed in fate. Maybe he just didn't believe in fate when it involved her running off to the king's city for the gods knew how long, to find someone who didn't want to be found for probably very good reasons.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" she asked. "Your father can get someone to help him."
"I can't go with you. I don't really want to. The city kind of scares me."
Hazel tried not to laugh. Hay actually looked a little embarrassed, although the gods knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Truth be told, she was a little afraid of the city too. It was so BIG. A three days' walk across, at least, or that's what people said. Surrounded by walls, full of people. She didn't know that much about city society, although she doubted that at bottom it was much different from village society. People were people wherever you went, and everyone had to obey the king's laws. There were just more of them there. And somewhere in the mass was a missing prince who she had to find and restore to his family.
She could think of it as a grand adventure, maybe. A story that people in Redhill would tell over mugs of beer in twenty years. Have you heard the story of Hazel Vine, who went to the king's city and found a lost prince? But she'd still be alive in twenty years to refute any embellishments, so they'd have to wait until she was dead or had at least forgotten some of the things she'd done.
None of which actually made it any easier for her to leave now.
"How long until you go?" Hay asked. He'd pulled a chair around the table and sat down in front of her. Toast rested his chin on Hazel's knee, sensing that something really big was about to happen.
"Two days," she said. "Although I think Marcus wants me to leave tomorrow. He's doing some working tonight to see if he can pin down the prince at all for me, so I'm not wandering the length and breadth of the city for months and months." Hay opened his mouth to say something, probably to protest the length of time she'd be gone, and she put her hand over his lips. "I'm not going to spend months and months looking for the guy," she said reassuringly. "Ok?" Hay nodded under her hand.
"I still don't like it," he mumbled.
"You don't have to. I'll go the day after tomorrow. I still have to pack and reassure Uncle Vine that I'm not going to fall in love with some city boy and run off with him. Oh. Sorry. I'm not going to do that either. When I come home we're going to be officially betrothed, with all the paperwork and announcements and your father and Uncle Vine shaking hands and everything, and when you get the farm we'll get married. I don't want anyone else, Hay. Do you understand that?" He nodded again. "Good. Now don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."
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"What if something happens to you?" he asked her.
"Like what?"
"Like I don't know. The city is full of crazy people. You could be kidnapped. Murdered. Sold into slavery."
"You have got to be kidding me. People don't sell women into slavery any more, not around here. And there are enough crazy people in Redhill. I think I'm well prepared for that. Besides, I'll have Toast to protect me." She grinned. Toast was at that very moment nosing around in Hay's mother's garden. He seemed very interested in the tomato plants.
"Toast!" Hay yelled out the window. "Get away from the tomatoes! If he pisses on them, my mother is going to be really mad," he said to Hazel.
"He's not going to - Toast! Maybe you should go get the goat."
"Ha. Very funny." Hay stood up and went outside to rescue his mother's tomatoes. Hazel leaned out the window and watched Hay chase her dog out of the garden and around the house. They made a couple of circuits, Toast barking happily the entire time, and then Hay chased the dog inside.
"Silly dog," Hazel said, leaning down to rub his head. Toast barked. "You ate an hour ago. No." Toast seemed to pout. "Don't you make that face at me. I'm immune to your puppy-dog eyes."
"I can't believe you think he's going to protect you in the city," Hay observed.
"You can come with me."
"No I can't. I have work to do. Farms don't tend themselves."
"If I get into trouble I'll write home and you can come get me, how's that?"
"If you get into trouble you probably won't be able to write home."
Hazel sighed. "I'm not any more excited about this than you are. Marcus won't come with me either - he says I have to do it myself. I don't know how he thinks he's going to rate a mention in the histories if all he ever does is send me on my way. I'll be the one doing all the work." She patted Toast on the head absently. He licked her hand. "Well, in a year or so I guess I'll be famous."
"A YEAR??" Hay stared at her. "You're going to be gone a YEAR? Marcus is sending you away for a YEAR?" He'd planted both hands on the table and was leaning over it now, staring at her with something like shock and something like anger. Hazel just shrugged.
"I didn't say I'd be gone a year. The prince is in the city, it's not like I have to scour the countryside for him. There are charms I can use to try and locate him, or charms Marcus can use before I leave so I know where I'm going, and he has a distinctive birthmark which is how I'll know it's him. And once I find him all I have to do is get him back to court. I don't have to wait around while he prepares for the throne." She put her hand on top of Hay's. "It won't be a year. If it is you can kill Marcus for me. Either than or send him to help me."
"If you're gone a year I'll kill him for me. Do you really have to do this?"
"I really have to do this."
"Damn. Why?"
"Because it's my destiny." She tried to sound convincing. It wasn't that she entirely discounted what Marcus had said to her, but she wished she had a little more prompting besides just his words. A dream, a whisper of the trees, a black calf born to a dun-colored cow.... Pink tomatoes in Hay's mother's garden. A blue moon. A sudden, very early frost. Exotic flowers sprouting in a fallow field. Something besides Marcus putting on his farseer voice and declaiming fate for her.
Hay snorted. Hazel blinked. Usually he believed in fate. Maybe he just didn't believe in fate when it involved her running off to the king's city for the gods knew how long, to find someone who didn't want to be found for probably very good reasons.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" she asked. "Your father can get someone to help him."
"I can't go with you. I don't really want to. The city kind of scares me."
Hazel tried not to laugh. Hay actually looked a little embarrassed, although the gods knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Truth be told, she was a little afraid of the city too. It was so BIG. A three days' walk across, at least, or that's what people said. Surrounded by walls, full of people. She didn't know that much about city society, although she doubted that at bottom it was much different from village society. People were people wherever you went, and everyone had to obey the king's laws. There were just more of them there. And somewhere in the mass was a missing prince who she had to find and restore to his family.
She could think of it as a grand adventure, maybe. A story that people in Redhill would tell over mugs of beer in twenty years. Have you heard the story of Hazel Vine, who went to the king's city and found a lost prince? But she'd still be alive in twenty years to refute any embellishments, so they'd have to wait until she was dead or had at least forgotten some of the things she'd done.
None of which actually made it any easier for her to leave now.
"How long until you go?" Hay asked. He'd pulled a chair around the table and sat down in front of her. Toast rested his chin on Hazel's knee, sensing that something really big was about to happen.
"Two days," she said. "Although I think Marcus wants me to leave tomorrow. He's doing some working tonight to see if he can pin down the prince at all for me, so I'm not wandering the length and breadth of the city for months and months." Hay opened his mouth to say something, probably to protest the length of time she'd be gone, and she put her hand over his lips. "I'm not going to spend months and months looking for the guy," she said reassuringly. "Ok?" Hay nodded under her hand.
"I still don't like it," he mumbled.
"You don't have to. I'll go the day after tomorrow. I still have to pack and reassure Uncle Vine that I'm not going to fall in love with some city boy and run off with him. Oh. Sorry. I'm not going to do that either. When I come home we're going to be officially betrothed, with all the paperwork and announcements and your father and Uncle Vine shaking hands and everything, and when you get the farm we'll get married. I don't want anyone else, Hay. Do you understand that?" He nodded again. "Good. Now don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."
words: 1237
total words: 5164
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-04 04:48 pm (UTC)