Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Location: Chansond’eau, Westland
Year: 113 F.A.
Status: Late Summer

Two and a half weeks the group had spent in the Westland capital of Chansond’eau, and during that time, River had grown quite fond of Jess, the boy they’d met on their second day there. She had also gotten his attention, and at the night of the banquet he had presented her with two gifts, a bag and a ball he had made himself, to let her know how he felt. Now, half a week later, it was time for the group of travelers to leave, and River didn’t want to go.

“Grandmama,” she said as her grandparents finished up their packing, “before we leave the city, I want to see Jess. I want to tell him goodbye.”

She had already finished her packing a while ago, so it wasn’t as if she still had work to do before they left.

Arthael, though, was still working, folding her and Halmír’s clothes so that they could be put into their bag. She had given up on getting River to help her; the girl had been quite morose since waking up that morning. The fact that she was speaking up now was a good sign, Arthael thought.

“Master Jeremiah’s shop is on the way to the city gate,” she said slowly, still folding clothes. “I know you know the city well by now, and you know what to do if Ioreth shows up … why don’t you go ahead on your own right now and we can pick you up on the way out of the city?”

River’s head snapped up in surprise and she stared at her grandmother. “What?” she asked, not certain she had heard correctly.

Arthael smiled at her. “After you’ve properly thanked their Majesties, and said goodbye to them,” she said firmly.

River squealed and hugged Arthael tightly around the waist, then ran for the door.

“River!” her grandmother called after her.

River paused in the doorway and turned to see what her grandmother wanted. “Yes?”

Arthael nodded at River’s pile of belongings. “Don’t forget your things.”

River blushed and darted back to grab her two bags (one of them being her new one, holding only her new ball, the other being the one she’d originally taken with her, with all of her other things), her bokken, and her bow. “Sorry, Grandmama.”

Arthael chuckled softly. “Go on. Be careful.”

River didn’t waste any time, but turned on her heel and took off for the door once again.

After bidding farewell and expressing her gratitude to the king and queen for her stay in their home, she made her way to the city. Despite the distance, she was still full of energy when she finally arrived at the tannery. She stopped outside the door to catch her breath a moment before entering slowly so that she wouldn’t interrupt any potential customers.

Inside, she looked around. There didn’t seem to be any customers in the shop, and there was no one behind the counter either. She could hear someone working in the back though, and, feeling quite at home in the shop by this time, she slipped through the curtain that cut the work space off from the display and sales area.

Jeremiah was in the process of softening a large piece of stiff leather, soaking it in a chemical compound that would eventually leave it as soft as satin, stretching it with his fingers. He glanced up when he heard the curtain move and smiled upon seeing River.

“Hello, River,” he said warmly. “You look like you’re on your way again.”

River nodded, her smile faltering again. “Yes … the others are still packing their things, but Grandmama said that I could come and say goodbye to Jess.” She hesitated a moment, her eyes skimming the shop, and then asked, “Is … he home?”

She knew there was a very good chance he might be out playing football, though of late he had waited for her here before heading to the game field. Still, part of her was afraid that he might have already left, assuming that she would head there instead.

Jeremiah smiled gently. “He’s here. Upstairs. Go on up.”

“Thank you!” River bowed and then ran for the stairs on the other side of the room, the stairs that would lead up to the second floor of the building where the family lived. She took the steps two at a time, her baggage not holding her back a whit. At the top of the stairs, she stopped just long enough to knock before opening the door and stepping into the living room.

“Hello?” she called out, her heart pounding in her chest.

Jacinthe was sitting in a rocking chair, embroidering what looked like a salwar, her feet up on a leather footrest. Jasta was sitting across from her, reading to her from a book, and when River called out her greeting she smiled widely and set the book aside.

“Good morning, River!” she said brightly. She blinked. “Oh – you have your bags! Are you … are you leaving?”

River nodded. “I have a little bit of time before the others come to get me on the way out of the city,” she explained again. “But Grandmama let me come here to say goodbye.”

Jasta’s face fell. “Oh. Well, you wait here and I’ll go get Jess, okay?”

River nodded gratefully and set her things on the floor. They were getting heavy after all of that running.

As Jasta ran off, Jacinthe shifted in her chair and put her feet on the floor, setting her embroidery aside. She leaned forward slightly, folding her hands and setting them on her enormous belly.

“Go on and take a seat,” she said softly, nodding at the couch. As River did so, she leaned back in her chair again and began to rock gently back and forth. “You know, your departure is going to leave quite a hole in our lives. We’ve gotten quite used to your visits.”

River blushed slightly. “If I could stay longer, I would,” she replied quietly. “And I know it’s going to be quite a while before I get home yet. Still … I want to ask Mama and Papa if they would be willing to take a trip out here after I’m back. With the slavery issue dealt with, it really would be fine if they leave the ranch for a while.”

Jacinthe smiled. “If they would like, we would be happy to have your family stay here. We haven’t much room, but …”

“Thank you,” River murmured, “but I think they would prefer to stay in the inn so as not to intrude.”

“Nevertheless,” the woman replied with a kind, warm smile, “the offer stands.”

From the hallway, there was the pounding of feet as Jess and Jasta returned. Jess was the first to arrive, as Jasta was unable to run, but even he was out of breath. His golden hair was in disarray, sticking up every which way, his blue eyes wide, looking a bit wild.

“You’re leaving?” he blurted, sounding as if he were panicking.

River nodded slowly, her eyes growing misty. “I wish I could stay,” she told him, her voice catching. “But it’s time for us to keep going. There are so many places to go, so many people to meet …”

Jess swallowed hard. “You’ll meet new friends,” he said quietly.

River couldn’t tell if he was trying to encourage her that it would be fine for her to leave or if he was afraid. She nodded slowly. “Yes … I suppose so.”

Jess sniffled a bit and rubbed his nose with the back of one hand to hide it. “Promise - promise you won’t forget me? If you find someone you like more?”

River blinked. “What? No! Jess!” She stood up and hugged him tightly. “Don’t be silly! There’s nobody I could ever like more than you!”

“But you don’t know who you’ll meet!” Jess replied, returning the hug.

“That doesn’t matter.” River smiled at him. “I know you, and I know how I feel about you. That’s all I need to know, to know that I’ll never like anyone more than I like you.”

Jess blushed hotly and averted his eyes. “But you’re going far away, and who knows when you’ll be back? Or even if you’ll be able to come back?”

River held her friend at arm’s length and waited until he looked back at her so that she could look him in the eyes.

“I will return,” she promised him solemnly. “I swear it. No matter how long it takes, no matter what I have to do to make it happen, I will be back.”

She pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment, then held up one finger. “Stay here a second,” she ordered him, and turned around to kneel by her things. Jess looked questioningly at Jasta, who had taken her seat on the couch again, and then at his mother, who was still sitting nearby, before looking back at River to see what she was doing. When she turned back to Jess, she had her bow, her brand new gold-runed, ebony bow, in her hand.

“This is my most prized possession, other than the gifts from you,” she told Jess seriously, holding the bow as if it were fragile. “I won this at our Mettarë festival this year by outshooting everyone else in the Borderlands.”

Jess nodded to show his understanding, and blinked in surprise when River thrust it out at him. “What …”

“Keep it,” River told him, her tone disallowing any argument. “Hold on to it for me. That way you have a part of me here, just like I have a part of you with the bag and the ball you made for me. And whenever you look at it, remember that I’ll be back someday to get it back from you. Understand?”

Jess was astonished. “But – but if you won this …”

River shook her head to stop his protest. “That’s why you know I’ll be back for it,” she told him. “Don’t argue it.”

Jess blushed hotly and took the bow from her, clutching it awkwardly in his hands. He had clearly never held one before, but that didn’t bother River one bit.

“So how much time do we have before you have to leave?” he asked River, almost as shy now as the day they had first met.

River smiled and tugged him to the couch so that they could sit down. “I don’t know. Whenever they show up, I guess. I’m not going to worry about it until they get here.”

Jess grinned. “Want to play a game?”

River giggled. “Sure. Jasta?”

Jasta shook her head. “I’m reading to Mama. You two go ahead.”

River grinned and took Jess’s hand to lead him to their games room (a room they had because there was little else Jasta could do for fun), and as she dragged him from the room, Jess mouthed over his shoulder to his sister, Thanks!

Jasta grinned after the two until they were out of sight.