Chapter Two: The Return Home
They had traveled the better part of a full day, and night before stopping to sleep. Kaira, and Mirah now rested in the carriage on the final stretch before reaching the city of Limburg. The two young ladies had fallen asleep only two hours out of the city, but once the driver tapped the side window with his whip Kaira instantly sat up, and began shaking Mirah vigorously as she opened the curtain to show her the city.
“Mirah, Mirah! Wake up!” She called to her. Mirah anxiously arose to part her eyelids widely as she peered out the window.
“Oh, my, Kaira! It’s such a beautiful, and magnificent place! Like a dream!” She exclaimed. As the horse’s hooves echoed atop the cobblestone road Mirah peered up at the jutting steeple of the local cathedral, and the many gothic style buildings that lined the city streets. It was indeed quite beautiful. The countryside was lined with Edelweiss, and the scent of the flower seemed to permeate the air with a sweet, natural perfume. It was incredibly romantic, and Mirah found herself falling in love with Austria already. As they penetrated further into the city a wide city square welcomed them, and Mirah spotted every sort of vendor one could imagine. There were boutiques, and cafes filled with people. All around her Mirah could see the happy city as it came to life.
“It is. I am so happy when I return home.” Kaira smiled brightly back at her.
“How long will it be until we arrive at the manor?” Mirah inquired in an attempt to contain her growing excitement.
“It takes about twenty minutes to cross the town, but I can ask if we can stop at the tavern first, if you like?” Kaira winked knowing that Mirah would balk at having to wait twenty minutes before being able to see anything, and she herself had grown quite parched. A stop at the tavern to see her father before he made it back to the manor was something she had considered long before Mirah ever asked the question.
“Oh, yes. That would be lovely. I find I am growing rather tired of having my knees in such an uncomfortable position.” Mirah attempted to stretch her legs then. It was an act in showcase of how her legs were beginning to feel tired of the constraint sitting in the carriage caused them. Kaira had suspected as much since she too had already began to feel the burning pain in her own cramped legs.
“Then to the tavern we go.” Kaira winked before sticking her head out the window, and tapping the side of the carriage to get the driver’s attention, “Be a dear, and take us to my father’s tavern before home?” Though she spoke in a questioning manner it was said more like a commanding request, and the driver gave a polite nod in acknowledgment before taking a turn off the square to the right.
“As you wish, Mademoiselle von Masoch.” He said curtly. Appeased with his response Kaira retracted from the window, and slid back into her seat.
“It shouldn’t take long now, Mirah. The tavern is only about a block away.” Kaira was beginning to feel fidgety, and wondered about having a stiff drink for the first time in her life. She had always been so prim, and proper that the notion of drinking something of a risqué' spirit appealed to her. She brought her hands down to rest within her lap just then, and once more allowed the enchanting smile she wore beam. Mirah sat unmoved in the seat, and as genteel as ever as she smiled back at Kaira.
“What about fortune tellers, Kaira? I hear a gypsy or two makes way through here at times.” Mirah was now beginning to wonder about the gitanos since she had seen so many tucked in amidst the vendors of the square. Some had been playing tambourines, and others singing folk songs as far as Mirah could tell.
“Oh, I’ve never truly spoken to any of the gypsies, Mirah, but my friend Olandra Duchennes has on many, many occasions. Of course Olandra is a bit of a different sort of character. I met her one night when she become a belligerent drunk in father’s tavern. It was quite by accident, I assure you, but nevertheless I found the woman so intriguing even though she is most certainly the most eccentric of people I have ever met.”
