Still

A Road

The Soldier sat back in the tavern again, sipping more than his fair share of the water from the pitcher sitting at the bar. He had found a bit of worker with a butcher, carrying pigs from a nearby farm to the back of a slaughterhouse, then carrying their carcasses to the meat shop. It was tedious work, and he only earned a couple silver shillings from it, but it was enough to buy more food for their one horse. The horse he wouldn't even be able to bring into the forest anyways, which he might as well sell and walk the next five miles to the woods with money in his hands.

Where was Marian? The sun was just beginning to fall in the sky, and she had been gone for hours. The Soldier almost thought she could have ran away, but where would she go? The town was poor in plantations, meaning she couldn't just hide in some large tree for The Soldier to find. Then again, she had a knack for making people angry, so it was possible that she was being kept in whatever type of jail cell they had out here. Maybe The Soldier needed to find whoever was constable in the area, and ask them.

"Someone's feeling grumpy," the tavern lady said, leaning against the bar. "What's wrong?"

The Soldier sighed, staring at his empty cup. "I should be on the road right now," he told her. 

"Did you lose your lady friend?" 

She wasn't really a friend– more of an acquaintance really. The Soldier nodded and said, "That's one reason, yeah."

"I've heard someone say they saw her near the witches' shoppe down the street," said the tavern lady. "Folks out here are used to strange things, but her.... Now no one's seen a nymph so far away from their home. You've gotta imagine what the magic harlots out there might be thinking, seeing her, if you know what I mean."

So Marian was getting herself into more trouble, just as The Soldier predicted. He got up from his stool, and thanked the tavern lady before rushing out. A little witch shoppe shouldn't be hard to find, especially in such a normal town like this one. The Soldier had to find Marian before anything truly bad could happen to her. He couldn't imagine doing the trip in the forest without her, even if she twisted his knickers.

He looked around the street and at the little cabins surrounding him. Just near the end of the road was a wooden shop decorated in dancing chimes and a sign delicately carved out of cedar wood that said, 'Sisters of the Untrained Eye'. Underneath that sign was another one, much smaller than the first, that said, 'We are open!'. It was just the place he was looking for.

The Soldier briskly walked towards the door, and swung it open. The inside smelled strongly of lavender and sage, but he ignored it as he came over towards the woman sitting in front of a large desk. She pulled away her thick, frizzy white hair and smiled at The Soldier with silver eyes. 

"How may I help you today?" she asked, placing her hands in her lap. 

The Soldier scanned the room for something out-of-place that could lead him to Marian, but everything looked strange. There were floating cards and jam jars filled with pickled eyes. The only thing that didn't catch his eye– not the first time, at least– was a door in the back, covered in pink scarves and silks to hide what was behind it from view. If Marian was here and in trouble, he most likely would find her there.

"Have you seen a nymph nearby?" asked The Soldier, eyeing the lady suspiciously.

"Yes, actually," the woman answered. "She should be out from the back soon."

As if on cue, a curtain from the back opened up, and Marian Mells stumbled out, wide-eyed and pale. She was shaking and thin; thinner than she had been earlier that day. He rushed over, giving Marian his weight. The Soldier found himself wanting to give her more, but there was nothing else he could do.