Adelena unfastened the lock on her door, walked in, tossed off her cape and
threw herself down on her cot. She laid back with her eyes closed and her
arms flung over her head, taking in long slow breaths. She felt something
pushing against her side, so she reached back and withdrew her wand and
flicked it to the floor.
“I am tired” she whined to the walls.
Lately Adelena reached the end of each day in total exhaustion. There was
just too much to do. The need to provide for others and ensure that the gifts
were exciting and sparkly was straining. She had been at this for over 90
years. And the need never stopped. Every week another lost soul sought
another Fairy Godmother to solve their problems. It felt like there was a
never-ending parade of unfortunates that clamored for her attention,
appealed for favors, and ran off happily ever after, nary a thank you note in
return. It was all getting to be too much. Adelena felt wrung out, and in
need of respite; instead, she had one day off a fortnight. “Well, it’s better
than nothing,” she said consoling herself.
She sat up on her cot and took stock of her tiny cottage. It was austere,
without adornment or clutter. Adelena needed no sentimental knick-knacks
to represent moments in her life. She found comfort in the pragmatic. She
had what she needed and needed what she had. She lived alone with no
encumbrances such as children or pets that would need her. Solitude in her
cottage was her happiness.
She woke early the next morning. Her usually leaded eyelids popped open to
the rising sun. From her pillow she peeked through the window curtains and
viewed Sol as it seemed to sneak up onto the horizon, creating a soft orange
sky. “Nice,” she said, feeling much better having had a good night’s rest.
Adelena rose to meet the day. She completed her morning ablutions and
dressed. Moving wordlessly to her table, she prepared to her break her fast
with tea, fruit, and cheese. Hot steam rose in swirls above her teacup and the
aroma of wild rose and fennel filled her nostrils. She lingered over her meal,
relishing the luxury of time, and made a short list of today’s chores.
“I will walk to market square this morning. It’s time to replenish the
cupboard with produce and baked goods. Then maybe I’ll visit the butcher.
He promised me lamb chops last time I visited him. Oh, and a handsome
face has he!” smiling as she reminisced. “It’ll be good for me to be amongst
the townspeople and be unnoticed. And perhaps later today I will bake a
gooseberry pie to enjoy with my tea!”
Her enthusiasm rose with the Sun. She cleaned her cup and saucer, checked
to assure herself that everything was in its place and readied herself to leave.
She fastened her money belt and donned her cape. As she stood palming the
doorknob, “Should I just leave it here?” she asked herself. But being ever
cautious, she reached for her wand on the floor and secured it inside her
cape. Confident, she headed out to meet the day.
It was a short thirty-minute walk to the town. A winding dusty road led to
the town gate. Adelena nodded to the familiar constable observing people
entering the township. He smiled nonchalantly at Adelena and turned his
attention to people walking in behind her. Adelena reveled in the lack of
attention paid to her. She followed the noise coming from what she knew
would be a busy marketplace this morning.
Sure enough, the market was bustling with vendors and buyers, oxen and
asses, pushcarts and tables, and feral cats and dogs sneaking away whatever
foodstuffs fell to the street. When a vegetable vendor caught her eye, she
moved to their cart and engaged in age tested contest to see if she could walk
away with a bargain. This wheeling and dealing occurred throughout the
market. The longer the contest, the louder the voices; a gambler could wager
all day on the outcomes of the deals vociferously negotiated. Adelena’s
bargaining voice joined the cacophony of the marketplace. Buyers and
sellers sang the century’s old song of commerce. It was invigorating and
Adelena felt her old bones begin to settle into enjoyment as she roamed the
marketplace with her arms full of rewards.
Near the end of morning, she sought a carrier. Spotting a young lass of 12
years, with flowing red tresses, she called to her: “You, you there young one,
I offer you 2 sou to take my purchases to my home. Come back to me after I
have my lunch, and I’ll give you two more.” The young carrier’s arms filled
with Adelena’s stock. “Be sure to find me at The Sheppard’s Tavern.” And
with that, Adelena strolled by the bustling push carts and enjoyed the rest of
her morning.
Sparrows and pigeons squawked and clattered as she approached the tavern.
Seeking a handout, the birds danced at her feet. Adelena reached into her
pocket and found some crumbs from another day. “Here you go my hungry
friends.” She amused herself with the birds until the rumbling in her stomach
reminded her it was time for her lunch. Smiling, “I do so enjoy my days
off!”
She made her way into the tavern. Sheppard’s Tavern was her favorite day-
off place to dine. She enjoyed the dark, candle lit mood, the smell of meat
pies baking in the brick oven, the sounds of glasses clinking on the bar and
the assortment of locals carousing their day away. It created a feeling of
frivolity in Adelena; a feeling she could not rouse in her work.
Adelena sat as far from the ale bar as she could as she had no desire to
interact with the day drinkers. When Carlo, the proprietor, came to her, she
ordered tea and a slice of meat pie. While waiting, she examined the tavern’s
patrons. Assessing them one by one Adelena saw the burdens each held in
their heavy hearts. She winced at her knowledge of so much suffering.
“No!” she admonished herself. “This is your day off. You are not anybody’s
Godmother today.” But still she peered into their hearts and sighed for their
troubles. She stopped when she was jolted by the hard, dark heart of a burly
man in leather and fur. She judged him to be a man of middle years with a
weather-beaten face full of anger and rage.
His black eyes bore into hers. “Turn your eyes” he objected. A cruel sneer
smeared across his face as he leaned threateningly towards Adelena. “Turn
your eyes from me or I’ll carve them out and drop them in this jar,” he said
gesturing a burnt-black thumb to the pickled egg jar on the bar.
“No offense, kind sir.” And Adelena turned her head away from his
menacing scowl. At that moment Carlo brought her tea and pie. Adelena
savored the appetizing aromas as her mouth watered and her stomach
growled. She bowed her head for a silent blessing and then began eating.
Adelena ate slowly and mindfully, appreciating each mouthful and enjoying
the luxury of unencumbered time.
She resisted the temptation to observe the burly man, concentrating only on
her food.
Upon completion of her meal, Adelena inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and
cherishing the feeling of being fully sated and fully relaxed. She rested for
several minutes.
The tavern noise became white noise as she thought of how she would spend
the rest of her day. Adelena loved walking along the river that accompanied
her on her walk home. She would harvest wild flora to add to her
apothecary. She imagined what she would find this time of year. Her list
included echinacea, goldenseal, chamomile, feverfew, and milk thistle.
Enthused, she dug into her money pouch for a few coins to pay for her meal
and collected herself to ready to leave. Immediately, she remembered she
had told the courier lass to meet her at the tavern. She eyed Carlo and asked
for another cup of tea and waited patiently.
In a quarter hour the girl stood at the tavern doorway allowing her eyes to
adjust to the darkness. She hesitantly entered and searched for her patron. As
she walked past the bar, she accidently tripped on the outstretched feet of the
burly man.
“You clumsy child, watch where you’re going,” he barked at her.
The waif looked at him and because she was frightened, she giggled
nervously and mumbled, “Sorry.”
“What are you laughing at?” he sneered. He grabbed her by the back of her
blouse, “Who are you to laugh at me?”
Someone from the other end of the bar yelled, “Leave her alone” Another
person appealed, “Oh, don’t be an ogre. Let her go.”
He growled deep in his throat. “Don’t you tell me what to do.” And he
pulled the frightened girl to him and held her against his legs. “I do what I
please.”
“Let me go” she sniveled. The youngling attempted to wriggle free from his
thick vice-like hands. “Please let me go.”
Instead, he picked up the lass and took a long look at her. He grinned at her
frailty and fear. Others around him moved away. His menacing grin took on
a lecherous leer. “I think I need you to come home with me. You can cook
and clean for me. And when I please, you can bed me.”
The girl began to sob, “Oh please let me go. I meant you no harm. Please let
me go.”
Others around him began asking him to release her. They tried to use
kindness in their voices to mask their fear. One bold young man with a look
of stern determination gazed squarely in the eyes of the menacing man,
“Release her or I will hurt you,” he threatened.
The dark man laughed, “Oh you go ahead and try.” And with the girl held
under his left arm he reached back with his muscled right arm and clocked
the young man with a round house punch to his jaw. At the snap of his
jawbone, the young man fell to the floor. “Who’s next? No one tells me
what to do.”
Carlo retrieved a knife from under the bar. He approached the bully from
behind. With the girl swinging from his him, the bully turned towards Carlo
and swiftly pounded a pewter ale mug across Carlo’s skull. Blood poured
from the gash over his eyes and Carlo blindly moved away.
All this was observed by Adelena. Feeling responsible for the girl she
determined her course of action. She rose confidently from her chair and
addressed the burly man. “Kind sir. That young lass is my courier. She
entered this tavern to receive her recompense for delivering my packages to
my home. If you will, kindly release her and get on with your day. Kind sir,
I am asking politely. “
A huge guffaw spilled from his face. “Little woman, know your place. You,
like the rest, will not tell me what to do.” And he sat again at the bar and
held the girl to his chest. The girl, cheeks wet with tears, continued to
wriggle in his arms causing him to hold her tighter to his body.
Adelena heaved a deep sigh. Pushing aside her tea she stepped away from
the table.
“You will let go of the waif,” she admonished the man.
His grip on the lass tightened further as he turned towards the old woman
and sneered, “Be gone you old cow.”
Adelena rose to her full height. Her clouded grey eyes cleared to a blazing
sparkle. She glared at the ogre. “You will let go of that waif.”
The tavern became eerily quiet. The patrons dared not breathe. The lass
whimpered as she lay limp in the brute’s grip.
The big man took a threatening step towards Adelena. She expected his
attempt at intimidation and with silent resignation she reached into her cape
pocket for her wand. All eyes were on the ogre expecting an explosion of
violence. Instead, with her wand in hand and in a masterly fluid movement,
Adelena drew complicated arcane runes into the air. Cryptic words floated
out of her lips and into the wand. The tip glowed incandescently. The room
filled with thunder and an acrid smokey pungency that offended the tavern’s
patron’s nostrils. A fiery burst of light arced to the bar and through the
ogre’s chest.
The brute froze as if he was turned to stone.
Adelena spoke quietly to the Tavern owner’s wife, “Please fetch the child
from his arms.” The wife pushed past her fear and wrapped her arms around
the waif. She lifted the weeping child from the big man’s grip. Apparently
dazed he blinked but did not move.
Once the child was safely away Adelena pointed her wand at the big man
and recited a second incantation. Immediately he woke from his trance. He
growled as he realized he no long held the child. He stepped forward and
pulled back his arm to launch a blow to the old woman’s head. She blocked
his fist with her wand and for the third time spoke an incantation of
inaudible words. The patrons covered their eyes and ears as a blast of white
lightening exploded in the tavern.
In the time it took Adelena to sit again with her tea, the tavern patrons began
to murmur their astonishment. Slowly they turned their eyes from the old
woman to the ogre. However, where once there was an ugly, brutish,
menacing man there now appeared a ruffed fur canine with the size and eyes
of a wolf and the wagging tail of a loyal companion.
“Here Bruno.” The canine ran to the woman and licked her face. She patted
and cooed to him. “Come” she commanded.
Adelena collected her belongings, gave the child all the money she had in
her pouch, and walked out of the tavern.
Humming softly to herself, Adelena walked home aside the river picking
wildflowers and herbs. She gently placed nature’s bounty into her basket
pleased with variety of plants she foraged along the way. After a while she
reached into her pocket and next to her wand, she found a biscuit. “Here
Bruno.” The massive canine hurried to her side and nuzzled the treat from
her fingers. Adelena patted his head and said, “I guess I have a pet. Well
then let’s go home.”
Bruno wagged his tail in eager acquiescence and trotted alongside Adelena
for the duration of their journey.
Pamela Messore is a RI Social Worker whose hobby is writing short stories. She is often pleasantly surprised that her stories frequently find themselves travelling in the Fantasy/SciFi realm. She is a big fan of Ursula Le Guin and James Tiptree. Pamela is sure that her love of reading has made her a better person.
threw herself down on her cot. She laid back with her eyes closed and her
arms flung over her head, taking in long slow breaths. She felt something
pushing against her side, so she reached back and withdrew her wand and
flicked it to the floor.
“I am tired” she whined to the walls.
Lately Adelena reached the end of each day in total exhaustion. There was
just too much to do. The need to provide for others and ensure that the gifts
were exciting and sparkly was straining. She had been at this for over 90
years. And the need never stopped. Every week another lost soul sought
another Fairy Godmother to solve their problems. It felt like there was a
never-ending parade of unfortunates that clamored for her attention,
appealed for favors, and ran off happily ever after, nary a thank you note in
return. It was all getting to be too much. Adelena felt wrung out, and in
need of respite; instead, she had one day off a fortnight. “Well, it’s better
than nothing,” she said consoling herself.
She sat up on her cot and took stock of her tiny cottage. It was austere,
without adornment or clutter. Adelena needed no sentimental knick-knacks
to represent moments in her life. She found comfort in the pragmatic. She
had what she needed and needed what she had. She lived alone with no
encumbrances such as children or pets that would need her. Solitude in her
cottage was her happiness.
She woke early the next morning. Her usually leaded eyelids popped open to
the rising sun. From her pillow she peeked through the window curtains and
viewed Sol as it seemed to sneak up onto the horizon, creating a soft orange
sky. “Nice,” she said, feeling much better having had a good night’s rest.
Adelena rose to meet the day. She completed her morning ablutions and
dressed. Moving wordlessly to her table, she prepared to her break her fast
with tea, fruit, and cheese. Hot steam rose in swirls above her teacup and the
aroma of wild rose and fennel filled her nostrils. She lingered over her meal,
relishing the luxury of time, and made a short list of today’s chores.
“I will walk to market square this morning. It’s time to replenish the
cupboard with produce and baked goods. Then maybe I’ll visit the butcher.
He promised me lamb chops last time I visited him. Oh, and a handsome
face has he!” smiling as she reminisced. “It’ll be good for me to be amongst
the townspeople and be unnoticed. And perhaps later today I will bake a
gooseberry pie to enjoy with my tea!”
Her enthusiasm rose with the Sun. She cleaned her cup and saucer, checked
to assure herself that everything was in its place and readied herself to leave.
She fastened her money belt and donned her cape. As she stood palming the
doorknob, “Should I just leave it here?” she asked herself. But being ever
cautious, she reached for her wand on the floor and secured it inside her
cape. Confident, she headed out to meet the day.
It was a short thirty-minute walk to the town. A winding dusty road led to
the town gate. Adelena nodded to the familiar constable observing people
entering the township. He smiled nonchalantly at Adelena and turned his
attention to people walking in behind her. Adelena reveled in the lack of
attention paid to her. She followed the noise coming from what she knew
would be a busy marketplace this morning.
Sure enough, the market was bustling with vendors and buyers, oxen and
asses, pushcarts and tables, and feral cats and dogs sneaking away whatever
foodstuffs fell to the street. When a vegetable vendor caught her eye, she
moved to their cart and engaged in age tested contest to see if she could walk
away with a bargain. This wheeling and dealing occurred throughout the
market. The longer the contest, the louder the voices; a gambler could wager
all day on the outcomes of the deals vociferously negotiated. Adelena’s
bargaining voice joined the cacophony of the marketplace. Buyers and
sellers sang the century’s old song of commerce. It was invigorating and
Adelena felt her old bones begin to settle into enjoyment as she roamed the
marketplace with her arms full of rewards.
Near the end of morning, she sought a carrier. Spotting a young lass of 12
years, with flowing red tresses, she called to her: “You, you there young one,
I offer you 2 sou to take my purchases to my home. Come back to me after I
have my lunch, and I’ll give you two more.” The young carrier’s arms filled
with Adelena’s stock. “Be sure to find me at The Sheppard’s Tavern.” And
with that, Adelena strolled by the bustling push carts and enjoyed the rest of
her morning.
Sparrows and pigeons squawked and clattered as she approached the tavern.
Seeking a handout, the birds danced at her feet. Adelena reached into her
pocket and found some crumbs from another day. “Here you go my hungry
friends.” She amused herself with the birds until the rumbling in her stomach
reminded her it was time for her lunch. Smiling, “I do so enjoy my days
off!”
She made her way into the tavern. Sheppard’s Tavern was her favorite day-
off place to dine. She enjoyed the dark, candle lit mood, the smell of meat
pies baking in the brick oven, the sounds of glasses clinking on the bar and
the assortment of locals carousing their day away. It created a feeling of
frivolity in Adelena; a feeling she could not rouse in her work.
Adelena sat as far from the ale bar as she could as she had no desire to
interact with the day drinkers. When Carlo, the proprietor, came to her, she
ordered tea and a slice of meat pie. While waiting, she examined the tavern’s
patrons. Assessing them one by one Adelena saw the burdens each held in
their heavy hearts. She winced at her knowledge of so much suffering.
“No!” she admonished herself. “This is your day off. You are not anybody’s
Godmother today.” But still she peered into their hearts and sighed for their
troubles. She stopped when she was jolted by the hard, dark heart of a burly
man in leather and fur. She judged him to be a man of middle years with a
weather-beaten face full of anger and rage.
His black eyes bore into hers. “Turn your eyes” he objected. A cruel sneer
smeared across his face as he leaned threateningly towards Adelena. “Turn
your eyes from me or I’ll carve them out and drop them in this jar,” he said
gesturing a burnt-black thumb to the pickled egg jar on the bar.
“No offense, kind sir.” And Adelena turned her head away from his
menacing scowl. At that moment Carlo brought her tea and pie. Adelena
savored the appetizing aromas as her mouth watered and her stomach
growled. She bowed her head for a silent blessing and then began eating.
Adelena ate slowly and mindfully, appreciating each mouthful and enjoying
the luxury of unencumbered time.
She resisted the temptation to observe the burly man, concentrating only on
her food.
Upon completion of her meal, Adelena inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and
cherishing the feeling of being fully sated and fully relaxed. She rested for
several minutes.
The tavern noise became white noise as she thought of how she would spend
the rest of her day. Adelena loved walking along the river that accompanied
her on her walk home. She would harvest wild flora to add to her
apothecary. She imagined what she would find this time of year. Her list
included echinacea, goldenseal, chamomile, feverfew, and milk thistle.
Enthused, she dug into her money pouch for a few coins to pay for her meal
and collected herself to ready to leave. Immediately, she remembered she
had told the courier lass to meet her at the tavern. She eyed Carlo and asked
for another cup of tea and waited patiently.
In a quarter hour the girl stood at the tavern doorway allowing her eyes to
adjust to the darkness. She hesitantly entered and searched for her patron. As
she walked past the bar, she accidently tripped on the outstretched feet of the
burly man.
“You clumsy child, watch where you’re going,” he barked at her.
The waif looked at him and because she was frightened, she giggled
nervously and mumbled, “Sorry.”
“What are you laughing at?” he sneered. He grabbed her by the back of her
blouse, “Who are you to laugh at me?”
Someone from the other end of the bar yelled, “Leave her alone” Another
person appealed, “Oh, don’t be an ogre. Let her go.”
He growled deep in his throat. “Don’t you tell me what to do.” And he
pulled the frightened girl to him and held her against his legs. “I do what I
please.”
“Let me go” she sniveled. The youngling attempted to wriggle free from his
thick vice-like hands. “Please let me go.”
Instead, he picked up the lass and took a long look at her. He grinned at her
frailty and fear. Others around him moved away. His menacing grin took on
a lecherous leer. “I think I need you to come home with me. You can cook
and clean for me. And when I please, you can bed me.”
The girl began to sob, “Oh please let me go. I meant you no harm. Please let
me go.”
Others around him began asking him to release her. They tried to use
kindness in their voices to mask their fear. One bold young man with a look
of stern determination gazed squarely in the eyes of the menacing man,
“Release her or I will hurt you,” he threatened.
The dark man laughed, “Oh you go ahead and try.” And with the girl held
under his left arm he reached back with his muscled right arm and clocked
the young man with a round house punch to his jaw. At the snap of his
jawbone, the young man fell to the floor. “Who’s next? No one tells me
what to do.”
Carlo retrieved a knife from under the bar. He approached the bully from
behind. With the girl swinging from his him, the bully turned towards Carlo
and swiftly pounded a pewter ale mug across Carlo’s skull. Blood poured
from the gash over his eyes and Carlo blindly moved away.
All this was observed by Adelena. Feeling responsible for the girl she
determined her course of action. She rose confidently from her chair and
addressed the burly man. “Kind sir. That young lass is my courier. She
entered this tavern to receive her recompense for delivering my packages to
my home. If you will, kindly release her and get on with your day. Kind sir,
I am asking politely. “
A huge guffaw spilled from his face. “Little woman, know your place. You,
like the rest, will not tell me what to do.” And he sat again at the bar and
held the girl to his chest. The girl, cheeks wet with tears, continued to
wriggle in his arms causing him to hold her tighter to his body.
Adelena heaved a deep sigh. Pushing aside her tea she stepped away from
the table.
“You will let go of the waif,” she admonished the man.
His grip on the lass tightened further as he turned towards the old woman
and sneered, “Be gone you old cow.”
Adelena rose to her full height. Her clouded grey eyes cleared to a blazing
sparkle. She glared at the ogre. “You will let go of that waif.”
The tavern became eerily quiet. The patrons dared not breathe. The lass
whimpered as she lay limp in the brute’s grip.
The big man took a threatening step towards Adelena. She expected his
attempt at intimidation and with silent resignation she reached into her cape
pocket for her wand. All eyes were on the ogre expecting an explosion of
violence. Instead, with her wand in hand and in a masterly fluid movement,
Adelena drew complicated arcane runes into the air. Cryptic words floated
out of her lips and into the wand. The tip glowed incandescently. The room
filled with thunder and an acrid smokey pungency that offended the tavern’s
patron’s nostrils. A fiery burst of light arced to the bar and through the
ogre’s chest.
The brute froze as if he was turned to stone.
Adelena spoke quietly to the Tavern owner’s wife, “Please fetch the child
from his arms.” The wife pushed past her fear and wrapped her arms around
the waif. She lifted the weeping child from the big man’s grip. Apparently
dazed he blinked but did not move.
Once the child was safely away Adelena pointed her wand at the big man
and recited a second incantation. Immediately he woke from his trance. He
growled as he realized he no long held the child. He stepped forward and
pulled back his arm to launch a blow to the old woman’s head. She blocked
his fist with her wand and for the third time spoke an incantation of
inaudible words. The patrons covered their eyes and ears as a blast of white
lightening exploded in the tavern.
In the time it took Adelena to sit again with her tea, the tavern patrons began
to murmur their astonishment. Slowly they turned their eyes from the old
woman to the ogre. However, where once there was an ugly, brutish,
menacing man there now appeared a ruffed fur canine with the size and eyes
of a wolf and the wagging tail of a loyal companion.
“Here Bruno.” The canine ran to the woman and licked her face. She patted
and cooed to him. “Come” she commanded.
Adelena collected her belongings, gave the child all the money she had in
her pouch, and walked out of the tavern.
Humming softly to herself, Adelena walked home aside the river picking
wildflowers and herbs. She gently placed nature’s bounty into her basket
pleased with variety of plants she foraged along the way. After a while she
reached into her pocket and next to her wand, she found a biscuit. “Here
Bruno.” The massive canine hurried to her side and nuzzled the treat from
her fingers. Adelena patted his head and said, “I guess I have a pet. Well
then let’s go home.”
Bruno wagged his tail in eager acquiescence and trotted alongside Adelena
for the duration of their journey.
Pamela Messore is a RI Social Worker whose hobby is writing short stories. She is often pleasantly surprised that her stories frequently find themselves travelling in the Fantasy/SciFi realm. She is a big fan of Ursula Le Guin and James Tiptree. Pamela is sure that her love of reading has made her a better person.
