Valknut

CHAPTER|3 Curious Findings

Once in the village, Sir Connor looked around with watchful eyes. This quaint little village with few houses and large sprawling fields, certainly had a very large marketplace. 

Women of all ages and sizes scuttled to and fro between stalls, hanging on to their little woven baskets while merchants called out to them, speaking of their wares. Against the clear blue sky and the light brown earth, their furiously swishing skirts were a dizzying sight of bright colors. 

Little bairns (children) ran across the dusty land, chasing each other and often tumbling over stacks of hay. Sir Connor could have sworn a dirty foot stuck out of a hay bale as it tumbled over with the boys. As quickly as it came, the foot disappeared. Sir Connor smiled. His eyes moved to the longhall where a dog sat content at the entrance, chewing delightedly on someone’s dinner from the night before. 

An old blind man sat near the dog saying to all that passed “We’re all God’s children, we’re all equal.” A passing soldier, still drunk from the night’s festivities, sneered at the man, kicked the dog off the steps of the longhall, and continued on his way inside. His mind so focused on the warmth of the fire and the meal inside that he missed the entry of the foreigners. 

Sir Connor missed nothing. Quietly, he placed himself next to the bale that housed the dirty little foot. When a tiny hand snuck out of said bale intending to grab an apple, he whispered softly “Gonnae no’ do that” (Don’t do that). Then he reached behind the bale and plucked the bairn from his hiding spot. 

Or so he thought. 

A feisty young girl with bright red hair kicked back at him. She bit his hand with all her might when she realized she hadn’t put up a good fight. Sir Connor refused to let go, and she resigned herself to staring at him with wide eyes, cursing very un-girl like. When she agreed to stay put and be quiet, he landed her on her tiny feet and looked her up and down. 

She wore a boy’s tunic and breeks. Not an inch of the cloth covering her was clean. Coming to think about it, her clothes were threadbare and were fit to be burned. Her feet were bare and soiled like her hands. Her hair, an unkempt mess was being tossed around her face by the gentle breeze. Instead of long and flowing like it should have been, her hair had been cut, no, hacked short to resemble a boy’s. She had the tiniest of noses and the biggest of grins. 

“Jus’ bugger off” she said. 

Sir Connor laughed. Kneeling, he asked for her name. She cocked her head to the left, gave him another of her dirty stares and then crossed her arms over her chest. Foot tapping on the ground. She chewed on her lip for a minute and then put forward a hand as she introduced herself. “Catriona” 

“Michty me! That’s a strong name for a wee bairn like ye! Where are you from?” 

“Kin know” (Don’t know) the girl replied 

“Clan?” 

“Nae” she said shaking her head, making her curls tumble around even more. 

“Parents?” he asked 

“Nae” 

When a loud noise caught Sir Connor’s attention, the girl scampered off, disappearing into the crowd. The disturbance came from the drunk soldier who had stepped out after his meal. A passing servant girl had accidently knocked into him, spilling foul-smelling contents from the chamber pot she had been sent to empty. Cursing, the soldier made his way to the river almost retching at the smell that now surrounded him. The blind man discreetly stuck his foot out and the soldier tripped. When face met mud, women giggled. As he walked past, he heard whistles and hoots. Before he could counter, a vagabond boy pelted him with a rotten apple before taking off. His face glowered with embarrassment and anger. 

With the girl nowhere in sight, Sir Connor stood up and went about his business. He bartered with a merchant, boots for some freshly baked bread and pelts for some fresh linen and medicine. 

Packing his horse with his supplies, the men made their way to the outskirts of the village. Sir Connor glanced back when he felt eyes boring into his back, but he couldn’t see who was watching them as they left.