Of Mine Enemy

chapter five

She'd had a husband once.

The air was crisp and tingling with the approach of winter. The fields had been well harvested - Saiorse hadn't a fear they'd eat well until the sun stopped her fuss. Papa even allowed her to buy a new gown - made of ivory colored silk. Yes, this winter would be spent well.

Her basket full and her mind heavy with all the joys of their success - their crops dotted every salesman's stand. There wasn't a finer bushel of wheat for miles - Saiorse walked aimlessly through the markets, her eyes drifting along the stone faced crooks prying at the naive parties beckoned by their faulty words. A soft chuckle ;eft her. She was quite glad her father taught her to see through the blurry lines a traveler could draw. She passed a woman conned into a magic 'potion' meant to give her a more appealing body to her husband caught between the thighs of another woman.

Distracted, the young girl wasn't aware of the boys trailing behind her, their steps woozy with drink and their minds hazed with the sway of her hips. Her wrists were snagged first by a tall man, fair and muscular - the lumberjack's boy, Larkly Arle. Lips pressed together, her nose wrinkled. She pulled away from him, struggling furiously - but to little effect.

"Pretty little Saiorse," the boy sang, cracking her a yellow-toothed grin. "Farmer's little piglet."

"Let me go, Larkly," Saiorse ordered. Her nails dug into his wrists. This only enticed the boy more. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers in a slobbery kiss that made Saiorse grow rigid, until her fist - somehow clenched, unbeknownst to her - soared into his cheek. Startled, the boy dropped his grasp, his fingers fluttering over the tingling patch of skin Saiorse afflicted.

"Whore," Larkly snarled, shoving forward from the balls of his heels. He raised his hands to her shoulder, grasping them so tightly Saiorse squealed. He thrust outward, releasing his hold with spearing fingers. Saiorse tumbled backward into a scurry of rum barrels. The lumbering blonde seemed far angrier with his reddened cheeks and his muscles puckered with his fury - Saiorse expected his foot to crash to her face, but her view was suddenly blocked by the long tail of a rather dusty trenchcoat.

"Gentleman!" A rather cheery voice came from the man guarding her. "Would you like to see a magic trick?"

"No time for Satan-loving fools," Larkly snarled. "Get outta my way. No woman hits a man without bein' punished like a man."

Larkly bore onward, but the stranger only held up a finger, shaking his head with a growing smile. Larkly, growing angrier, glared as he drew a deck of rusty looking cards from his coat. The man shuffled them quite vigorously, until he held out the deck. The blonde only glared, veins popping from his arms. Behind the stranger, Saiorse climbed to her unsteady feet, peeking from around his arm if she dared.

"Pick one," he instructed. "Go on, someone! Don't be shy, no need for fear here - ah, good man! Now show your friends! That's it, good, good." He held out his hand requesting his card back. Suspicious, Larkly handed it back, but curious enough to stand by. The dark-haired boy gave Larkly his best grin, before making a show of twisting his limbs and leaping backward as he shot his arm forward, holding a single card. "Sir, is this your card?" He proclaimed, overzealous.

Shadows flew over Larkly's eyes. He had chosen the queen of hearts - the man held a jack.

"No."

The stranger laughed nervously. "Well, you know what they say - jack of all trades, ah, master of maybe just one or two, sorry about this boys, but, you might want to close your eyes. These are made out of some pretty heavy parchment."

With a flick of his wrist, he flung his deck at Larkly's face, catching him right in the eye. With a snarling outroar and a swing of his fist, Larkly almost caught him in the jaw, but Saiorse and the false magician were already racing into the crowd. Spitting commands to the men gathered around them, they dove after two figures - but those two figures were not the heathens they sought, as the culprit had tucked Saiorse behind a crate of apples, holding her to his side as they rushed past with a brimming flurry of giggles.