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 Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 4:41 pm
The morning was a pleasant one - just cool enough that a stroll through the crowded market would not be stifling, even under the sun in the middle of a Sunderlander summer. Still, a well-dressed young woman absently toyed with a delicately painted folding fan while she browsed the wares and wondered what the snacks that the vendors sold tasted like. Some of them certainly smelled intriguing.
The lovely, golden rook perched upon Anna's shoulder shifted her weight from one foot to the other and surveyed the crowd with her haughty eyes. Clearly, the too-intelligent bird was unimpressed with the lot of them, but she was not above warning them away from her mistress, either, if they looked to be disreputable. For the most part, however, the pair had been enjoying a leisurely morning unmolested by any undesirable company.
As they passed a message board, a particular flyer caught her attention. A circus? Anna had never been to a proper circus before. She wondered whether she could pull Alexei away from his books long enough to take her...perhaps she would enlist Sumerki's aid. Well, it looked as though it would be in town for a while. There was time to wear him down.
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Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 4:43 pm
Dressed in a simple flowy dress that would keep her cool, Svetlana walked through the marketplace. Today was a day off for her and she wanted to see what items where to be found in a marketplace of Palisade. There was a lot of food vendors and craft vendors and people called out their wares as she passed. Today she needed to buy some food for her wagon. Although there was plenty of food served from the eating tent and cook was good at what she did but Svetlana liked to keep snacks for herself and especially the horses. So apples and carrots where a must and she stocked up for a few days. She could always come back. Soon she drifted other vendors selling trinkets and crafts and utensils and picked out a few items she needed and one or two she just wanted. She moved towards a message board and glanced up and saw a poster for the circus and smiled. The owner and ringleader of the circus had high hopes for being here and earning a decent income from the populace. Svetlana peeled her eyes from the poster and looked at the woman whom she paused behind to noticed that she was well-born and had a rather fancy bird upon her shoulders. She couldn't help but stare at it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:15 pm
As though sensing the attention upon her, Aranka turned to stare at the human with eerily brilliant red-orange eyes. Deciding that such attention was worth noting, the rook familiar silently informed her mistress of the other woman. Not particularly concerned, but suitably curious, Anna turned to face the stranger...
...only to find that she was not a stranger at all. Eyes wide with shock, she gasped. "Sveta?!" Surely not. She had not seen any of her old friends in over a year. Of all the places to meet a fellow Belastranan, to think that she would find one here, in the middle of a Sunderlander market. She laughed, then embraced the other woman. "It is you! Whatever are you doing here?"
Aranka protested the sudden movement, but kept her balance with an indignant squawk her only voiced complaint. She was glad her mistress was so pleased.
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 3:32 pm
Svetlana was startled with the rook's sudden attention but then was even more startled when the woman turned around it was non other than Anna. Sveta blinked several times and when the woman cried out her name it was clear that it was no dream.
She felt herself being embraced suddenly and she couldn't help but embrace Anna back. It had been a long time since she had seen her dear friend and haven't fled home she felt bad for leaving her behind. But here she was.
"Small world," she whispered to Anna before releasing her and taking a good look at her. "Tis me, its been a couple years now. I'm here because of that," and she gestured toward the circus poster.
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:16 pm
"Far too long," she agreed, lapsing into her more comfortable native tongue in the presence of her old friend. Seeing Sveta...it was like regaining a piece of the home she had been forced to flee. There were no words to properly describe her joy at the occasion.
Anna tilted her head, bemused. "The circus?" She wondered. "You wish to see the show? I still haven't been, you know. I had planned to take Alexei, but perhaps we should go together instead?" After all, it would be so much more enjoyable going with someone who was actually interested. Her dear brother would only bemoan the time he had lost with his precious tomes.
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 11:27 am
Sveta smiled at Anna as she changed to their native tongue. How good it was to be around someone she could speak to in her native tongue. Sveta seemed to grin wider at her dear friend as she spoke about wanting to see the circus and taking her brother too. She tilted her head and glanced at the poster before looking back at Anna. "My dear friend," Sveta began in their native tongue, "I've seen the show more times than I can count now. But that's because I am in the show but not til near the end and have a chance to watch it if I wish. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 6:11 pm
Anna blinked. It had never occurred to her that her friend might belong to the circus. This was simply because she herself was so pleased with her lot in life that she had never sought to change it. What noble-born woman would ever want to change her fate? Oh, there was unpleasantness, to be sure. Given the option, Anna would not wish to wed a man three times her age. Of course, since her brother was effectively her head of house, it was most unlikely that she would be forced to do anything she did not wish. To be fair, Anna was very aware that she was lucky in her fate.
There were others, like Sveta, who were not so lucky.
So, after taking a moment to digest the startling information that her friend had shared with her, Anna could only laugh. "Of course you are! Sveta, running away and joining the circus. Shall I pretend to be shocked?" She smiled and shook her head. "What part do you play, I wonder? Horse mistress, perhaps?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 6:28 pm
Sveta watched her friend for a moment knowing well enough that thoughts raced through Anna's mind. They where well-born ladies and Sveta had just made it clear she ran away from all that entailed to become a member of the circus. It might as well have been as low as horse manure but Sveta had just wanted to get away from her life before. Her father was forcing her into marriage. The man was handsome enough and of course wealthy, but Sveta preferred romance and love. She didn't care for wealth, grand houses, parties, and gowns. She preferred the company of her horse at the time and sometimes her brother and rarely her twin sister. Now all she had was a few changes of clothes, five horses, and a small vardo or wagon that was bright red and ornate but comfortable. She had many friends in the circus folks and got to move around and tour many places. Life was good to an extent. Sveta started at Anna's laugh and smiled slightly. "Oh Anna...did you really think you could pull that over on me. I know your shocked. What lady wouldn't be?" Sveta put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Horse mistress is fairly close but I do something that I didn't dare tell even you. Only my brother and I know I can do it. Of course now lots of people do but I'm in a circus and it's not a shock that way. I'm a trick rider. My brother taught me how. Father would be furious to know he taught me, a mere girl, how to do dzhigitovka."
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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 6:18 pm
"Appalled, then," she amended, for it was no secret that while Anna very much enjoyed being a lady, and could act the part of the snob when she so desired, she was in fact rather open-minded. While she might not properly understand her friend's life-choice, neither did it bother her.
Or at least, it didn't until she learned exactly what Sveta was doing there.
"Sveta..." she began, frowning slightly. "You are careful, I hope?" There was nothing wrong with Sveta practicing dzhigitovka in principle. It was simply that it was dangerous. She would be equally worried if her brother decided to take up the sport...though admittedly that event was exceptionally unlikely. Well, if Sveta's brother taught her, then she was likely as as safe as it was possible to be while doing such a thing.
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