One Tail at a Time

Trial of the Spirit - 6

She wasn't sure what it was that had her head lowering and her eyes furtively seeking a route out, but something was definitely not right.  It wasn't the fact that none returned her greeting or the way several pairs of eyes began to goggle at her sudden appearance among them even though she was in male disguise as always, but it was the way several of the towns folks began to gather into smaller groups while keeping their eyes on her as she made her way down the street that was fast being deserted.

Only the further in she went, the more her belly began to tumble over itself.  There were only two routes out from where she was and she had a strong suspicion that whatever was happening, it involved her directly which instantly had her wondering if she had been caught scavenging from the battlefield.  It wasn't a crime that would bring on a death sentence, but it was a crime that could see her hands removed or her body whipped within an inch of her life.

Turning her horse towards one of the exits, she suddenly realized what was going on.  A poster on a window immediately caught her attention because it was a sketch of herself along with the offer of a reward and a very hefty one and suddenly her body began to chill as the fear rose.  Convinced that her crimes had caught up with her, she immediately prepared herself to flee, especially when several of the townsfolk began to whisper instructions to surround her.

Only that's when she heard it.  The sound of hooves bearing down from the exit she had almost entered and suddenly the fear gripped her heart so tightly that she could barely think.  These town folks were generally good natured and many times protective, but it seemed she would not find safety among them today.  Her mind honed in on only one option available to her, and it was one she had avoided at all costs, but with no other choice, she not only jumped off her horse before slapping its rump hard to get it moving, but she joined the fleeing crowd who were rushing to get out of the way.

On her feet, she was exceptionally fast, so few actually noticed her rushing into a nearby tavern for the abolution blocks where several men were just as quickly rushing out at the sound of screaming and yelling.  Whoever the soldiers were that had been tipped off, they were now very close and in the tavern grounds having been guided to her fleeing form.  None noticed te smaller male entering the abolution blocks as all attention was on the sound of tables being tossed about the tavern floor and the stoping of heavy boots on the staircases.  

Now and then a womans scream was heard as she quickly began to pull her riding gown off and her hair ribbons from the tight bun she wore on her head.  Then just as quickly sliding her fingers through her long tresses, she teased and tousled her hair before quickly snatching at her dagger.  With so little time to think, she moved purely on instinct and the small cut to her finger was now being dragged across both cheeks before being roughly rubbed in to flush her cheeks.  

Blessing the winter, she quickly looked down at the long skirts and two white undershirts she had thrown on for added warmth.  Had it been summer, she would not have worn them.  But with a belt needed to hide the fact that she was wearing a mere two underskirts, she then snatched at her pants before cutting the leg off, then slitting it into four strips, she then wrapped them around her waist to create a decent sash.

She could hear the soldiers right outside the door and knowing they would come storming in any second, she then tipped one of the urine buckets over before falling heavily to her knees with the remainder of her riding outfit which she then tossed into the mess.  Bent over the urine which was spreading out across the floor towards the door, she let out a surprised squeal when the door was suddenly thrown wide.

"Please kind Sir, I didn't mean to knock the bucket over, I will clean it right away....." she cried out at the look of suprise on the faces of four men dressed in constable uniforms and looking super agitated.