<<<<<<< PART 1
Part 2
*This part and the next are somewhat similar (with some key details added in) to the section I abridged for inclusion into the charity anthology Dreamtime Damsels And Fatal Femmes. I highly recommend supporting our cause and procuring your own copy for the sake of all the fantastic stories you are sure to enjoy as much as following this serial!
Red hesitated as she listened to the
townspeople chatter excitedly amongst themselves.
"Is it the Schoolmaster already?"
one woman asked her husband.
"I hope not! The cakes aren't
quite finished yet, and the musicians are still tuning their instruments!" responded another.
Gradually the noise ceased as everyone
caught the rattle and creak of a wagon echoing off the cliffs of the
mountainside, and over it all, a clear, ringing voice.
"...and
the maiden fair danced light and free, and the maiden fair danced
free!"
Red rolled her eyes and slipped her
cowl into place as the horse trotted into view, pulling a large
wagon. It wasn't Schoolmaster Remani after all, but one of the
regular peddlers who trekked up the mountain, a rover by the name of
Justin. Though he only passed through the mountain villages a handful
of times per year, Old Justin was as much a staple among the people
of Queston as the swarthy band of shepherds. He kept his beard only a
small patch of hair at his chin, and an impressive, slender mustache
that spread straight out over his lip, and his twinkling eyes
betrayed no guile as he politely nodded to everyone he passed.
His presence never failed to excite the
children. They came running as he pulled his wagon to a halt.
"The Peddler! The Peddler!"
they cried as they danced around.
The horse came to a willing stop as it became too crowded to progress any further. Small hands reached up to pull at the tall wagon cover bulging with tantalizing shapes, and small feet danced around at the promise of fascinating new delights.
"Have you brought us new toys?"
one eager boy asked.
Justin chuckled as
he climbed down from his seat. He held out his hands to greet the
children.
"Have I?" He answered the little boy. "Let
me tell you, the whirligigs I've collected in my wagon are guaranteed
to give you hours of
fun!" He pulled an object out of the back of his wagon. "Let
me show you," he said, kneeling in the dirt.
He placed the thing
on the ground before them, a metal object shaped like some
four-legged monster with a key in its back. Justin gave the key a few
twists, and something rattled inside the monster. With a series of
stiff jerks, the monster began to move by itself, waving its claws in
the air. It pinged and crackled as tiny sparks burst from its jaws.
"A dragon!" Squealed a young
boy, and all the children laughed and clapped.
Justin allowed the children to sample
his array of whirligigs and colorful knickknacks. True to form, the
young ones ran to show their parents and beg to buy the trinkets. The
old peddler rocked on his heels and gestured to the decorations.
"This looks mighty auspicious!"
he declared. "What's the occasion? You weren't expecting this
much of me, I hope!" He laughed and winked at the lass standing
near him.
"Oh no," she said with a
blushing smile. "Our Schoolmaster is returning from his time in
the city, and we're getting things ready for him."
Justin smiled. "Lucky sort, that
is! What I wouldn't give to have a place of my own in every village I
pass through!" He sighed, still staring at the maiden. "And
whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
The young woman gave a curtsey. "They
call me Wendy, if you please, sir."
Justin nodded. "Well, Miss Wendy,
can I interest you in the latest beauty trend, straight from the
King's court?" He reached into his wagon and pulled out another
set of cases.
Wendy leaned over, eyebrows raised in
curiosity. "Oh? What is it?"
Justin flung the lid back, aware now that he had
the attention of several young women. "I have combs," he
said, lifting them up and letting their shiny surfaces catch the
light. "Beautiful combs that are all the rage in the king's
palace! And dresses! Just look at these," he opened a chest and
brought out garments of fine, brilliantly-hued cloth. "I went to
a party at the Duke's palais,"
he said the word with a refined accent, "and I swear every
high-born lady there was wearing this very style, along with these
shoes," more boxes open, "and if I could have the attention
of you men--long coats and baggy sleeves are out, don't you know!
That's peasant-wear; you want to look like a classy gentleman, you
wear this!"
he pulled out a puppet decked in a sleek waistcoat and a shirt with
close-fitting sleeves.
Handing it to the nearest villager for a
closer look, Justin pulled out a few items to demonstrate that he had
normal-sized versions of everything the doll wore. "Doesn't that
look a treat?" Justin asked the growing crowd with a wink. "No
more catching your sleeve on anything or dragging it through the dirt
and dust of your everyday life. Your wife will thank you when you
don't smell
like you've been in the trough all day!" He winked, and a few of
the villagers laughed at the joke. He brought out a small stool and
stood upon it, so that his voice could carry over the heads of the
gathering crowd. "Step right up, folks! I have plenty of items
for bartering! Bring your things, and let's strike a deal!"
From the far side of the Town Square,
Red watched with folded arms as the villagers brought out their food
preserves and hand-made items to trade for Justin's "new and
very popular" trinkets.
Two small pots of soup and a skein of
wool netted a set of dresses for the whole family. Half a cow of
dried and cured meat got a set of pans that looked like tin, but
Justin promised they would last far longer and hold up longer against
the flames than their usual hammered steel dishes. Red observed every
transaction, as farmers traded gardening tools to buy their children
one of those new, key-wound toys; she listened as Justin presented a
new kind of seed that produced an unheard-of plant bountiful enough to keep a
family of five fed and happy through the winter months, grew in any
kind of soil, and needed very little care. She saw
beautifully-embroidered pillows and garments delivered to Justin, who
barely glanced at them with a shrug. "Well, I hate to say this,
Mrs. Haben," he told the woman, "but with the advent of
machine sewing in the big cities, there just isn't much of a market
for this kind of novelty needlework anymore."
The woman's chin trembled, and her
eager eyes dimmed a little. "Oh," she murmured, "but I
would dearly love to have a set of those combs! And this is all I
have to barter with!"
Justin patted the woman's shoulder.
"What can I say? You've won me over. I suppose I can let you
have the combs, and I'll take these," he deftly removed the
whole pile of cloth from her hands, "and see what I can do with
them, how does that sound?"
Mrs. Haben squealed as much as the
children as she picked up a set of the combs. She set one in her hair
and admired her reflection in the tiny mirror built into the lid of
the box. "My!" She gushed. "Don't I look fine!"
Red snorted. The woman's hair was
already too thin--the comb looked as if it would fall out at the
first sign of a breeze, but Justin replied, "I declare! You look
as much like a courtesan as I've ever seen!" He extended a hand
and raised his voice to the women whispering behind her. "This
goes for anybody who wants to trade for me, as well: I'll take what
you're willing to barter with--it might not have much of a market,
but I didn't get to be a traveling peddler by being choosy!"
Red rolled her eyes. She'd seen enough.
No one was working on the party preparations anymore; Justin had
their full attention--and Red didn't think he deserved hers. Besides,
she was rapidly developing a headache from the vast array of spices,
perfumes, and colognes Justin stored in his wagon, and her back was
aching even worse than before. Red turned heel and set off down the
road. She could feel the Wolf just itching to leap out, to leave this
funny little town, so easily amused, far behind much faster than her
human legs could. The further she got from Justin and his smells, the
more she detected something else--something that stoked the Wolf's
ire inside her. Change now! Follow it! cried
her instincts, but Red didn't want to make a move until she knew what
prompted this feeling. She trailed the scent, until it led her down
the alleyway beside the dressmaker's store--and so distracted was the
young huntress that she nearly pitched head-first over a body laying
there.
"Oh my!"
"Watch out!"
Make that two bodies. Red sprawled on
the ground for the space of a breath, but her reflexes allowed her to
gather her feet under her even as she fell. Only her wrists smarted
from where she had banged them on the rough corner of an empty cloth
crate.
She gathered herself and turned to face
the two people in the alley as a young man helped a young lady to her
feet.
"Henny!" Red gasped,
recognizing the woman.
Henny Garrity--Deborah's absent daughter--ducked her blonde head and bit her lip.
"Hullo, Lady Red," she murmured softly.
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