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Old 04-25-2006, 03:13 AM   #269
Undómë
Shade of Carn Dûm
 
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Away -- Wistan's farm - Dunstede

It was one of Rose’s great pleasures to ride round the family farm. She knew every inch of the lands; their nuances in every season. As she turned them down the rough dirt path between fields, she smiled at the tips of barley grass just pushing up from the dark, rich soil. She’d helped her brothers sow the seeds late in the tenth-month of the year. Hardy little things, they were; they wintered over, waiting for the first thaws and had begun to send their shoots up toward the promised sun. To either side, the fields had just been plowed and soon her father would call it time to plant the oats. All around her the air was heavy with the richness of new turned earth.

She pulled herself back to the present situation and recalled she had a companion riding at her side. She applauded the fact he had so far not been of the idle chat sort. And a few stolen looks his way had assured her he could sit a horse well. Two favorable points, then, for Master Thornden, she thought to herself.

‘Were those your sisters we were just with?’

The question brought a smile to her face, and she wondered how she should answer him. She could speak the plain facts or embellish the answer with her own interpretation. His attention was turned to her, and his hazel eyes regarded her in an expectant manner.

‘Oh, much worse than sisters, I should think,’ she began. ‘Though I love them dearly,’ she then disclaimed. ‘I can’t really know how awful a sister might be, having only brothers myself. But I could imagine that a sister might take into account my own feelings and preferences and fancies, as I should like to think I would hers, and take my side in those sorts of family arguments and discussions where the force of opinion was against me.’ She chuckled, relishing the thought of such a confederate.

‘No, those are my sisters in law. And you only met two of them. There are four altogether.’ She counted off on her fingers. ‘Aesc and Breca are twins, and my oldest brothers. Mayda is Aesc’s wife; Lynet is Breca’s. Ardith, the other one you met, is Willim’s wife; he’s the next oldest. And my youngest brother, Garan, is married to Britta. I say youngest, but still he is five years older than I.’

They had come to the corner of one of the fields and took a sharp turn, riding now along the length of it. ‘I do hold them dear, my sisters in law, and mostly for the fact that they do love my brothers well. But they seem to have become joined at the hip with my mother, and I can always count on them to support her opinions and decisions. And therein lies the problem when the opinions and decisions under consideration concern me. They are a quite formidable force, my mother and my brothers’ wives . . . quite a tough opposition to get round at times.’ She grinned impishly at the thought and shook her head. ‘But I do manage to outfox them now and then. And so far, in the game, I do believe I’ve managed to stay a step or two ahead of them.’

‘What about you?’ she asked, turning the focus from herself. ‘Didn’t I hear you say you were the oldest in your family? I envy you, as I’m the youngest in mine. I wonder . . . it must be easier, isn’t it? As the oldest child and a male, to boot, to be able to avoid your mother and sister’s whims and plans, as you so ably put it earlier.’

Last edited by Undómë; 04-25-2006 at 03:17 AM.
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