Part 6

The town market.

 

 

 He held her for a while longer before giving her a final squeeze and letting go. Her arms held him a few moments longer then released him. He put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a little shake then turned to look after the horses. He removed the cloths covering their eyes.

 The girl asked him where they were and he replied, "I'm not sure. We'll go outside in a bit and see."

 "What about.....?" her voice trailed off.

 "Oh....I don't think they'll be following us through there unless they have a key. And that isn't very likely." He carefully rewrapped the key and placed it back in the bag on his saddle.

 He finished with the horses...rubbing each on the head for a couple of minutes and giving them each a lump of sugar to reassure them. He turned to the girl and asked,

 "Shall we go see where we are?"

 He led the way down the passage toward the glow of outside light. After about 200 yards they were standing at the entrance that was mostly blocked and hidden by many years growth of bushes and tall weeds.

 The entrance was on a hillside so they could see down into a small valley with a stream wandering along it and a road of sorts following beside the stream.

 He handed her the reins to her horse and pushed through the plants blocking the entrance and let her follow. When they got to the bottom of the hill he held her horse and let her mount and then mounted as well. They road slowly toward the little road his eyes constantly sweeping the landscape around them.

 They reached the road without incident and no sign of where they had emerged from the gate at. He remained very much alert as he looked left and then right up the road, deciding to go right and follow the direction the stream flowed.

 As they road he stayed alert and looked for signs of where they might be, noting only from the sunlight and the type of plants that they must have come out farther north. They rode on for about 3 hours the girl remaining mostly quiet and lost in thought. He broke the silence only to tell her about some of the plants he saw.

 They started passing worked fields and he knew they were getting close to a village of some kind. As they got nearer the village he could tell it was going to be a town of some size. They went over a small hill and could see the town before them sitting where the stream they were following met a much larger one. They could see a few docks along the river side of the town.

 They road down and into the town following the main street and attracting little attention so travelers must be fairly common. They entered the market square of the town and halted. He dismounted and held her horse while she did too. There were posts to hitch the horses to so he did and told her, "We need some supplies and to find out where we are. Come with me and don't talk to anyone." She just nodded and quietly went with him.

 They approached some of the brightly colored market stalls and he bartered for some things they needed and she could see him relaxing as he talked with the vendors. He turned and smiled at her and told her, "Its ok....I know where we are now. Its better than I could have hoped for."

 He looked at her and she began to feel a little embarrassed by his close scrutiny, but he smiled and looked around, seemed to see what he was looking for and took her by the hand leading her toward a particularly brightly painted stall. She looked around and saw that it was a clothes stall and her eyes lit up. He smiled and said, "I think it's time we got you something else to wear."

 She looked down, suddenly embarrassed to realize she was still wearing the clothes she had worn in slavery, covered only by the travel cloak she was wearing.

 The vendor bustled over giving her a disdainful look then and turned to him because of his better quality clothes and asked, "What can I do for the gentleman today?"

 The man looked at the vendor and said quite firmly, "We have lost the lady's wardrobe and she needs some new things. Please assist her in finding what she needs."

 The vendor quickly changed his attitude and asked the girl, "How can I assist the lady today?"

 She looked up at her companion and he smiled and said, "Go pick you out some things to wear."

 He watched as the vendor led her toward the gaudier racks of clothes and smiled to himself when she insisted on looking at the more sedate better quality clothes. He watched a little longer as she smiled to herself carefully picking clothes to try as the vendor bustled around her like a nagging fly. Then he went and picked out some clothes from other racks and paid for them with another sales person in the stall and had them bundled ready to leave.

 He returned to find she had 3 outfits picked out and was waiting for him to make a decision. He asked her, "Do you like those?"

 She said, "Yes, but which...?"

 He interrupted her and told the vendor, "The lady will take all three."

 The girl flashed him a brilliant happy smile and the vendor quickly said he would have them wrapped and get the bill ready.

 He was back in five minutes with the clothes neatly wrapped and the bill. The man glanced at it, paid the man and picked up the bundle. "Where is a good place to stay here in town?" he asked the vendor. The vendor quickly named off three places and the man thanked him and they left, picking up his other bundle as well. 

 They turned up the street and stopped at a cobblers stall. "You need shoes and riding boots," he said. He watched her pick a pair of soft knee high riding boots and saw her hands linger for a moment on a pair of red  shoes before moving on to a more practical pair. She looked up at him and he told her to wait with the packages while he paid. She never saw the red shoes vanish from the rack.

 They got their horses and loaded the packages and led them up the street coming to one of the lodgings that the clothes vendor had named. The man looked it over and kept going. Another was on a side street....smaller and neat with a garden wall around it and a stout wooden gate. They entered the gate and saw a small stable off to one side of the courtyard. A stout man was sitting on a bench by the door puffing on a longstem pipe. He looked up and nodded at them, "How can I help two travelers today?" he asked.

to be continued shortly....

There are a lot of things I would do differently knowing what I know now. I'm not talking about what you told me last night, but about the things I've learned over time. I hope the things I have learned will cause me to make fewer mistakes in the future. Always be honest with me like you were last night. It makes me feel trusted....and that makes me happy.

This is no bed of roses I offer and I'm not a knight in shining armor. My armor is old and dented and patched from the beating it has taken. But I won't leave you because times are bad and I have never...will never...lie about my feelings for you



Of the women

I have known

And loved

I would choose you,

Now,

At this place

In my life

Over all of them.

Don't ask why.

There is no

Simple answer.

Just know

It's true.

 

There is a certain fascination we have with bad things that life or others force us to do. We tend to believe we are the bad things and that we are bad as well. Because at some point we fantasized at being the 'bad girl' or doing 'bad' things doesn't make us bad. It does however make us prey to others that can use those fantasies to lay guilt on us and try and make us believe we were always bad.

 You, my friend and love, were never....can never be bad no matter how you feel right now. You feel you are worthless except for bad things and beyond redemption and hope because that is all you hear from those that surround you masquerading as your friends. There is a purity in you...a light of innocence that though battered and bruised can never be dimmed by what they do to you.

 I know...I see it shining...it lights my life in a way that you cannot imagine from where you are now. Look through my eyes again and you will see how the light from you has penetrated to the darkness in my depths. Look around in me....even where there should be blackness there is light to see by.

 Those people were never...could never be your friends no matter what you feel. I don't doubt that your feelings toward them have a bit of truth in them from memories of the past and what you thought they were then. They use your feelings against you in their desire to feed on and destroy what is in you.

 With them...it was always...and has always been.... all about themselves. If you are honest with yourself when you look back and examine those friendships....you will see you and others were always the ones being used and taken advantage of. The brunt of the cruel jokes. You went along with the cruel teasing and making fun of others because that was what all those around you did and you didn't want that cruelty focused on you. But you never really felt right about it even though the ones around you told you its our right...we are better than them.

 Good and evil...2 concepts that need each other to exist. Without the evil or bad, how would we know what was good. There would be no gauge to judge it against.

 Good can look at evil and know and understand it and even get seduced and lost in it for a time. But evil can never understand good...it doesn't have the ability to see into good and understand it. Evil is totally self-centered. Since evil cannot understand good it seeks to always destroy it.

 In the same vein is love....one can only love as deeply as they have been hurt. That is the gauge for love....the hurt. Those that have been hurt deeply are the ones capable of the greatest love. Love also has a balance. There needs to be give and take on both sides for it to be love. When it is so far out of balance that one is all or mostly give, and the other is all or mostly take....that isn't love.

 That is what happens in abusive relationships. One side is all take and the other is all give. The taker can never take enough and the giver thinks if they can only give a little more it will make things better and alright. The abuser or taker feeds off the giver, but the hunger never ends....they keep feeding til there is nothing left.

 You my friend are surrounded by abusers. They do just enough to make you think that somewhere in them there is some care, but there isn't. That is only a ploy to keep you willing to give...so they can keep bleeding the life from you as long as possible.

 I know at first this will make you feel worse because you haven't had the strength yet to walk away, but that is not how its meant at all. I wanted you to know that you may have the greatest capacity to love of any woman I have met.

 The bad things that happen to us are what tempers us and makes us stronger. It helps us grow...become more...develop character. I know...it shouldn't come in such a large dose at once. Its also hard to see the value of experience while you are living inside the pain. You don't feel stronger...only tired and weak and you want to give up and get it all over with.

 You told me you aren't the same girl you were just a very few weeks ago....and that is true. You are becoming more and it is hurting beyond anything you ever imagined. The transition between childhood and womanhood should have been more gradual and less painful, but it wasn't.

 But I don't see a crushed and broken girl, I see the foundations being laid for an incredible woman. One that fills me with desire to know her, to watch and help her grow. I didn't fall in love with that girl....like she didn't fall in love with me. The most those 2 people were looking at was flirting and a possible fling. I fell in love with the woman you have become and are becoming. It wasn't the girl that fell in love with me either. It was the woman.

 So you see...there is hope in even the most cruel of things. From pain and misery sprouts love. Who could imagine? Maybe that was goober's real message to us. Hope and love.

 So...you keep writing...write all of it down and leave nothing out...worry about editing it later. I'm expecting to see more later. 

 

 They stopped briefly midday near an old abandoned farm and had fruit from the wild trees that had once been an orchard to go with the trail rations he took from a bag hung from his saddle. He drew some water from a well and after holding the amulet around his neck near it, took some for them and gave the rest to the horses.

 They moved out again after a short rest. The gray clouds behind them seemed nearer and he seemed to want to get somewhere before the storm hit.

 The pace he kept was faster after lunch and he seemed to be leading them toward a large hill she could see not so very far away. they reached the foot of the hill and started up a trail there just as she heard the first thunder behind her. She turned to look and saw the towering black clouds even closer. She thought she saw something moving far behind them but was distracted when he told her, "There's no time for looking at the scenery....get moving."

 They kept riding and followed the path to a gate in a large stone ruin though she could see most of the old fortress seemed pretty much intact. They reached as the afternoon was starting to wane and once they passed  through the gate he seemed more at ease. He led them to a large stone building, dismounted and took the reins of the horses and led them into the building,

 She could see part of the interior had been set up as a rough stable for wanderers like them to use when staying there. There was even a pile of hay for the horses to feed on.

 He took saddles and bridles from the horses after she dismounted and left them munching on the hay while he carried their gear to the old fireplace at the other end. He put some wood from a pile beside it into the huge fireplace and lit it just as she heard the first rain drops hitting outside. In seconds the rain was pouring down outside making the late afternoon even darker.

 The flames licked up around the pile of wood and soon there was a cheery fire going despite the storm outside. He motioned for her to come sit on the rough bench by the fireplace that was big enough for him to stand up in.

 They sat there in front of the fire and when he felt her shiver from the dropping temperature he got up and pulled a blanket from their gear and wrapped it around her.

 He went and got some hay and brought it, piling it on the floor near the fire and covering it with another blanket. He arranged their saddles like pillows and told her to lie down and rest. Then he went and made sure the door was secured against the weather, placing a bar across the door in the slots meant to hold it.

 Then he came back, took off his sword belt placing it on the floor near him. Then he stretched out on the blanket covered straw next to her with his head and shoulders propped on his saddle.
 He closed his eyes listening to the crackle of the fire...smelling the burning wood. He felt her moving beside him and felt her snuggle up against his side like a puppy seeking warmth.

To be continued....  
   
Note: All stories(whether good or bad) are the copyrighted property of KRB Enterprises and may not be reprinted or used without permission.  

 

A pleasant break.  I wrote this thinking of how goober made us both feel. At peace....and smiling. Go always with my love.

 She turned to find the man leaning against a tree watching her and smiling.

 "What are you doing there?" she asked.

 He chuckled, "Just enjoying the scenery."

 She blushed and turned to hide the red on her face from him. She felt him come up behind her and stand there and place his hands on her shoulders and begin kneading the muscles along her shoulders and neck. She sighed and gave in to the feeling as her tension melted away.

 She heard his voice explaining that this was one of the old places. Here long before mankind came to this world. They were scattered over the planet....places that felt filled with power. Some like this one filled one with good feelings. Some were the opposite and filled one with a sense of unease and foreboding. Others had a neutral feeling neither good or bad, just felt like there was a tremendous amount of power there waiting to be unleashed.

 She felt his hands leave her shoulders and turned toward him only to see him standing by the basin lifting the cup toward the image in the stone, say something softly that she couldn't hear, and then drink from the cup.

 He replaced the cup, turned and smiled at her and said, "Its time we were going." He took the water bags and lead her back to the horses, put one on each saddle, then held her horse's reins and waited for her to mount. She felt pleased he was letting her do it on her own and grasped the pommel, placed her foot in the stirrup and pulled herself up on the horse swinging her leg over the saddle. He picked up something wrapped and hidden and put it in a saddle bag then placed some bundled leaves and plants in the bag after. Then he mounted and led the way back onto the trail. She turned and looked over her shoulder toward the blue rock wondering if she would ever feel so at peace again and wondering how long the feeling would last.


To be continued....  
   
Note: All stories(whether good or bad) are the copyrighted property of KRB Enterprises and may not be reprinted or used without permission.  
 

 

 He smiled softly..."I can think of lots of good people that would want you."

 "There are no good people" she said bitterly.

"Are you including me in that?" he asked.

 "No...you are....you are different," she said softly.

 "I'm not so different....there are lots like me out there," he said.

 " I didn't even try to escape....I didn't want to risk what they said would happen....doesn't that prove I'm what they say...that I really wanted all this...need it?

 And what makes you think any of the good people would want me?" she asked in a tired, dejected voice.

 "That only proves that you were scared and abused....not a thing more....that is all it proves.

  And as to who would want you...." he smiled " I would in a heartbeat."

  Her head jerked up and looked at him...."Really?" she asked in a small voice.

 "Really," he said.

 "You are just saying that to male me feel better" she said.

 He chuckled...."did it make you feel better?"

 She gave a small smile...."For a minute," she said.

 His hand reached out and caught her chin forcing her eyes up to his. His look was totally intense as he said to her, " I think it is a good thing that it made you feel better, but I would never say that just to make you feel better....never. I meant what I said."

 He could feel the sharp intake of her breath...see the look in her eyes...so he kissed her on top of her head...gave her a little shake and said, "You think about that. "

 "Now...lets get packed up and on our way. We still have a long way to go."

 

 

Marshmallow Magic

 

It is often in the simplest of things that we find the means to exist in even the most trying of times...the strength to survive when everything else has failed us...the will to keep trying. That is Marshmallow Magic.

 

Part 1

 

Some of you might remember when this happened...it wasn't that long ago....but it is also as old as the Hills of Earth itself. A girl sat up watching the night sky...not quite believing the position she found herself in. She was waiting for the nightly appearance of her friend in the looking stone (what we today might call a computer). She had been talking to her friend for a few months.....and had come to value his opinion and the things he was willing to teach her. He knew some things were wrong but she would never tell him all that was wrong...only some of the things...some of the time. One night he had taught her to drink moonlight. She had cupped her hands....held them into the moonlight....felt them fill....with something.

Then she had held them to her lips and sipped....she felt the moonlight trickle into her throat....soothing her....feeling the energy move into her body then radiate out completely filling her. She was amazed when she felt it happening...thinking that she had just been .... going along ....when he told her what to do.

Then....last night he had told her a tale of a beautiful girl that had been kidnapped and stolen against her will to be sold and used for horrible things til one day someone stepped in and rescued her. He had taken the tale up to the point where they had stopped for the night on their way back to her home.

They were sitting by the campfire watching the flames....the embers glowing ...each lost in their own thoughts....waiting for something to happen. that was when he reached into his saddlebag and pulled out another pouch. She had watched in curiosity as he had sharpened a stick with his knife then reached in the bag and pulled out a fluffy white....something....then impaled it on the stick. The man had then told her about marshmallows and how to toast them. He then handed her the stick he had prepared and fixed another for himself and showed her how to toast them by holding the marshmallow into the flames and having her do the same. When the marshmallows burst into flames he quickly pulled it out and blew out the flame leaving the marshmallow browned from the flames...he then pulled it off the stick and popped it into his mouth....nodding at her to do the same. She did and found the taste and gooey sweetness tasted like nothing she had ever had but she loved the flavor even though she almost burned her tongue.

The man smiled at the wonder in her face as she was tasting her toasted marshmallow. They proceeded to finish off the whole bag and somewhere during that time he had felt her lean against his shoulder relaxing for the first time since he had found her. He let her fall asleep leaning against him. And later wrapped his arms around the girl and held her when the nightmares came in the night.

 The next day they broke camp and rode slowly...savoring the almost perfect day. He was pointing out plants and trees and places things had happened. telling her all kinds of things.

 When they camped that night she even went with him to collect firewood. They ate a small meal and were sitting by the fire when he again took 2 small sticks and sharpened them. He then took out the empty marshmallow bag and laid it between them. Hand me a marshmallow he told her. She looked at him like he was demented and said "they are all gone". He simply looked at her holding her eyes with his and said "Hand me a marshmallow" Held prisoner by his eyes her hand crept to the opening in the empty bag and grasped...air...but she held her hand out to him like she was offering him a marshmallow. He reached and took it from her...said "thank you" and proceeded to impale it on the stick and hold it into the flames. She could almost swear she saw the pale image of a marshmallow as he plucked it off the stick and popped it into his mouth. "Another please" he told her. Her hand went through the motions again and he again put it on the stick and toasted it. This time the image she saw was more clear and when he held his hand out for another...she placed it in his hand. The fourth time she could swear she felt something when she reached in to hand him another. the sensation was greater on the fifth and as he pulled it off the stick the image plainer than ever...he told her to open her mouth and she did. When he popped it in her mouth she felt a delicious burst of heat and taste like a memory of the real toasted marshmallow. From then on he gave her every other marshmallow and with each one the sensation was stronger and more real til they were laughing and toasting marshmallows like the night before. Suddenly she stopped and looked at him, her tongue burning from a too hot marshmallow..."How did you do that?" she asked. "Do what?" he asked in return. "The marshmallows....they are....so real. What kind of magic is this?" He smiled and looked at her...."They are real." he said. "Can't you feel the heat...the taste...see them?"  "And I did nothing....you did it all"  "But......but how....?" she asked him. He looked at her holding her eyes once again with his. "Because you believed....that is all the magic you need. It is the strongest of magic. Believe strongly enough and anything can be real." He looked back into the fire...a soft smile on his lips as he softly sang...."Have a little faith in me...."

 

To be continued....

 

Note: All stories(whether good or bad) are the copyrighted property of KRB Enterprises and may not be reprinted or used without permission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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