My Solemn Oath Pt. 02

Chapter 3

Anora

My feet ached from the shoes I wore, a pair borrowed from Isabel. They were dreadfully uncomfortable, only thin wisps of leather tied on with cording and worn out from years of use. I wasn't surprised by any means; peasant shoes--especially old ones that had seen better days--couldn't compare to the luxury I lived in being a royal. My stature afforded me the best of everything, which had all been left behind in my chambers in the castle.

"This dress is too large," I hissed, tugging at the woven cotton fabric. The bodice crept lower and lower with each movement I made. Isabel was taller than me, a bit broader in the shoulders too. I wore a dress borrowed from her, shoes that belonged on feet smaller than mine despite how tall she was. Thankfully I was able to get away with wearing my own pantaloons, but peasants didn't have corsets like mine, so even that was borrowed for fear that the dress would dip in the front too far and someone would notice.

"You wanted to come with me, so this is what you get. You know your brother would have your head if you ventured out here with us commoners and didn't have your babysitters." Isabel picked up an avocado and squeezed it. She had done this a million times; it was how she lived her life daily. I had snuck out of the castle with her many times, but I'd never been to the market without my royal guard.

"You know the guard accompanies me with good reason. There are dangerous men who would--"

"Shh, what do you want to get yourself killed?" She grabbed my elbow and dropped the avocado, leading me away from the merchant's stall into the chaos of people moving about. Hands grabbed and reached, thronging the market in search of baked goods, vegetables, fresh fruits, and other small items not sold in the various carts set up around the court square.

I bit my lip, frustrated with the way she treated me, but even that was a ruse. She was right. If anyone were to find out the princess walked the street as a commoner any number of horrible things could happen. I clung to her side, navigating the business and taking it all in. Merchants with carts and makeshift stalls lined all four sides of the square. Women carried baskets loaded with their treasures, while men milled about chewing tobacco and carrying on. The market happened each week on the sixth day, before the Lord's day.

I had often watched from the castle wall all the festivities, wondering what it must be like to be amongst the normal people. Here on the ground in the middle of the raucous buying and selling, I felt powerless and fearful. It was much louder than it looked, merchants and vendors shouting the sales they had going on. One man even carried a large smooth stick, which I later found out was due to the high rate of theft he had suffered.

"Oh, look, over there." Isabel pointed at a stall three or four spots down. Tables of various heights nestled in a semicircle in front of a wagon. An elderly woman stood with money bags in hand smiling. The tables were covered in soaps and bottles of lotions, and I recognized the soft colored paper and brown twine they were wrapped in. It was the merchant that Isabel purchased my soaps and perfumes from. I felt strangely comforted by the familiarity of the sight in the middle of this new experience.

"Yes... let's go there now." I started that way, hiking my skirt up even though the skirt fell across my shins. Isabel snatched my hand away, yanking me backward.

"Stop doing that. God's sakes, woman. Your skirt does not brush the ground. Look around!" She leaned in close to my ear where I could hear her harsh whispers and smell the faint hint of the lavender soap I had washed her with only this morning when she shared our bath. It tingled my skin thinking of the way she made me feel. "Commoners do not wear skirts like the ones you have. If you keep doing that, everyone will know you are not a commoner."

Her strong rebuke sobered me. I stiffened and followed her as she guided me to the next stall. "We'll go get our soaps next. First I want to pick out some fresh vegetables." We stood in front of a vendor whose produce was stacked in large crates with little method of organization. The man himself was haggard, his beard unkempt.

"What sort of vegetables do we need to buy?" I picked up a tomato, feeling the weight of it in my hand. I didn't interact with food except once it was cooked, so even though I knew what all of these things were, even this was a new experience for me.

"Well, you don't need anything. That's all taken care of." Isabel seemed in a mod today, snapping at me. "But I need somethings to make a stew. I'm thinking--" she sorted through the crates, searching for something "--ah,aye. Here it is." With a wide naughty grin on her face she turned around brandishing a large eggplant. The long, deep purple vegetable was smooth and firm, and Isabel's face made me think things no proper woman should even dare let cross her mind. "This looks fun."

She dropped the eggplant into her basket and grabbed my hand, leading me toward the merchant. "What are you doing?" I had to control the nervous waves of arousal now shooting through my body, coloring my face a dark pink.

"I'm buying my produce, silly. No one needs to know what it's for." She dropped a few more vegetables into her basket--leeks, a turnip, an onion. Her hand in mine was cool and relaxed, a stark contrast to my clammy, sweaty skin. "And later when you are calling my name, you'll thank me."

"Isabel," I hissed, chuckling. She always pushed the limits, skirting propriety like a fine lace on the edge of a garment.

"That'll be three coppers." The merchant held out his hand to Isabel who rifled through her money purse in search of the coins. I tucked myself behind her, not wanting to make eye contact. My strawberry blonde hair had been plaited as a peasant would do, and tucked beneath a ridiculous white cap, tied on my head so tightly my brain bulged from my eyes and ears. That didn't stop his prying eyes from looking me up and down.

I pulled the dress up again, keeping my chest covered, but I felt exposed. The man ogled me like a piece of meat at the butcher. Isabel took far longer to extract the coins from her purse than necessary and my pounding heart was likely to shut down.

"Looks like yer dress is a wee bit big." He grinned at me, exposing stained teeth littered with stray tobacco fibers.

"Uh...aye... well it belongs to my sister. She's bit larger than I am." I forced a smile and moved closer to Isabel, who elbowed me hard in the ribs.

"Here you are!" she snapped out, disguising the rude assault to my side with a bobble of her body.

"Careful there. Your toys might take a tumble." The man winked at me then glanced at the vegetables in the basket knowingly. I scoffed, ready to let loose on him, but Isabel hooked her arm in mine and jerked me away.

"Thank you, sir." Her grip on my arm cut off the circulation to my fingers and I whimpered. "Keep walking."

I sighed angrily and obeyed but I glanced over my shoulder at the perverted old man and he winked again. "He had no right. The nerve of --"

"Shut up, Annalyse." Isabel's singsong voice warned me I was crossing the line again. A woman with my authority should never been the object of any man's ogling and definitely not his rude insinuations about our purchases. I turned and watched where we were going, but not soon enough. My body slammed into something hard and the air burst from my lungs in a loud grunt.

"Woah, steady there, milady." Large, strong hands held me upright as I got my bearings. I looked up into the greenest eye's I'd ever seen, a man of about twenty-five staring down at me. He was handsome, brown wavy hair framing his face and tied back with a cord. He smelled like sandalwood, and unlike many other merchants in this marketplace his shirt and pants weren't stained or even soiled.

"I, uh, sorry." If the blush had gone from my cheeks following my last interaction it was short lived because they burned hotter than the sun. Isabel stood next to me snickering.

"Annalyse, this is Everett. Everett, my cousin Anna." As she made the introduction, I realized his hands hadn't left my body, one gracefully holding my side, while the other tightly gripped my hand and wrist. I looked at the way his fingers wrapped around my arm like I was a spindly bird-woman, and I tried to pull away.

"So nice to meet you, Anna." Everett's voice was calming, but I was embarrassed to say the least.

"I apologize profusely. I was distracted by a very distasteful gentleman who made very rude comments and I--"

"She talks to much when she's nervous." Isabel glared at me and I watched Everett's gaze turn downward, peering into her basket. He smiled and before he spoke a word. I cringed at the thought of what was going through his mind. The crowd pushed in, forcing me to take a step forward where my body pressed against his in a very unseemly way, making my nervous excitement worsen.

"I see you're making your stew again. Be sure to send me an invitation." The way Everett's eyes locked on to Isabel's and made her cheeks flush angered me. The insinuation was written on her face as clear as day.

"Of course, sir." Isabel dipped her head and hooked her arm around mine again.

"And maybe you'll invite Anna? I bet she likes soup." He turned to me, finally releasing me from his grasp, and I cleared my throat.

I scowled at Isabel. I would never be enjoying soup with him--or with any man for that matter. And I was hurt that Isabel hadn't told me how much her stew had been enjoyed by others.

"Yes, of course. I will see." Isabel batted her eyelashes as Everett turned and walked away. Her lovestruck doe eyes enraged me. I stomped on her foot to bring her back to reality and she yelped. "What was that for!"

"Really? You had stew?" I tried to keep my voice low but I wasn't used to so many people being around us and our spat drew a few eyes. Isabel scuttled me away hastily, moving toward the stall with all the soaps.

"I don't tell you everything. You don't own me." She held her chin high, her lips puckered into a firm pout.

"You aren't like that," I hissed. I had to take two steps to her one in order to keep up.

"Just because I like to visit your garden does not mean I do not enjoy the trees of the woods now and then. And besides, lumber builds a home. How would I enjoy my fresh garden fruit without some lodging."

I scowled, wanting to protest any more shopping. I hadn't thought we were exclusive. I knew how Isabel was, flirtatious and wild. I could hardly tame that about her. If I did she'd lose the quality I loved most about her. I just wished she would have told me she wasn't like me. I sulked along behind her as we walked toward the next merchant. Women like me would never have a home, or children. Isabel was my escape, the fun thing I did to keep myself alive on the inside while my heart died slowly. I'd managed to convince my father that studying my music and art was much more important than finding a suitor.

The idea that a woman had to marry to be worth something in society infuriated me. And worse still, the idea that I couldn't love whom I loved openly was devastating. I couldn't very well tell my father that Isabel and I were a thing. She'd be killed and I'd be put through the religious rites or exorcised or something. I shuddered at the thought of that, but no worse than when I thought of lying with a man.

"Stop pouting. We'll talk about it later." Isabel pulled me closer to her, maneuvering us around a throng of loud men in our way. She had the right idea though. If I could stomach the thought of allowing a man to place his cock between my legs, I'd marry just to have children. Oh, how I wanted children someday, and if my father had his way, I'd be married to the Duke of Eldon.

"Welcome, Lady Isabel." A cheery voice called out to us, and Isabel turned toward the sound. The older woman and silver hair, tied back with bronze clips and flowing down her back. Her skin was covered in wrinkles, but her eyes had a youth about them--brilliant violet, and sparkling with mirth.

"Kari, I've come for soap. Have you any of the lilac sort?" Isabel seemed so at ease with the older woman it helped me relax. This stand wasn't quite as busy, not as many pushy men bought perfumed soaps and lotions. I let my eyes graze across the tables. Some of the bundles were small, other large, each of them with a small tag affixed to them telling the customer what was contained within the tightly wrapped paper.

"Of course I do." The woman--Kari--winked and leaned forward reaching for a purple bundle, tied with cord just like the rest. "I can see you've been using the youthful skin soaps you purchased. You're just radiant, my dear."

And she was. Isabel was beautiful as can be, long brown hair and brown eyes to match. Her beauty was what awakened my desires to begin with. But I didn't dare look at her now, else my body may get aroused again and it would be a long wait for release back at the castle. So I fixed my eyes on the various packages again, noticing one of them said "increased health." Curiously, I picked it up and read the tag again, wondering what it meant.

"This one..." I looked up at the woman. "What does it mean?"

"Ah, that's one of my favorites." The woman took the bundle from me and smiled. "It helps boost the immune system, helps you fight off sickness."

"And all you have to do is wash with it?" My mind started to come alive with hope.

"Rightly. I have lotion too, there." She pointed to a small glass vial with a creamy concoction inside it. "Does the same. Just a few drops every day keeps the plaith away!" She chuckled at her own joke and handed me back the soap. Isabel was busy searching the tables but I was getting ideas. I cradled the soap in hand and thought of father. The plaith did not know how to heal him, and time was running out for us to find a cure. Of course, I could never tell this woman--or anyone else--that I was Lady Anora, but that didn't mean I couldn't ask questions about this woman's goods.

"So how do you make these soaps?"

The woman smiled graciously. "Well, I suppose the way everyone makes soap. I take my lye and--"

"No, I mean." I glanced around and felt embarrassed saying it, so I leaned in and spoke quietly. "The arousal soap. It really works. How do you make it? And this--" I held out the soap in my hand "--how do you make it?"

She raised her eyebrows and nodded knowingly. I was certain I wasn't the first person to ask her these things. "I see. Well, if I told you my recipes you'd make your own soaps and then wouldn't buy mine." She winked. "But the truth is, I use herbs and flowers that grow in the Cerenian Forest near my home and on the mountainside. A little love, and a special touch of magic and there you go."

I gasped. "Magic?" Just the word could get you banished.

"Oh," she chuckled, "just a phrase dear. Not to worry. I know the king's law."

Isabel returned with a handful of soaps and a few coppers to pay for them, but my curiosity was not quenched. I elbowed her out of the way, nudging in closer to Kari.

"And the arousal soap? How do you make that work so well?" I was no longer embarrassed by the thought of her knowing I used her soap. That was what she made it for, wasn't it?

She smirked. "It's all in what you stuff into it. Or hasn't Isabel taught you that?" Her eyelashes batted at me.

I bristled, taken back by how forward she was. Was she flirting with me? I swallowed hard and listened as she continued.

"In truth, my dear, I cannot tell you my recipes, nor can I tell you the secret to how my soaps are so powerful. Do you need something in particular?"

My shoulders drooped and I shook my head. This woman had no more answers for my problems than anyone else. She was a soap maker, not a miracle worker. What I needed were answers. Isabel told me she'd help me find the witch, the one who could cure my father, and that was what we'd come to this market to find out, but we hadn't even touched on the topic.

I watched Isabel pay for her soaps and mine too. She took the bundle out of my hand and placed it into the basket next to her vegetables. I felt disappointed. My father was dying and I'd wasted a day venturing outside the castle for nothing. I could have been seated at his door calling to him.

"What is it, dear?" Kari looked concerned. I shrugged and without thinking I spoke.

"I need to find the witch."

Isabel wrapped an arm around my waist and gasped. "Uh, sorry. She's not feeling well. We should go." She tried to whisk me away, but it was like my feet were stuck in mud, the cobblestones beneath them magnetic, not allowing me to move.

"Wait now..." Kari's voice beckoned us and we turned. "Let's not get hasty. Your secret is safe here, but we must be careful." She glanced around then leaned in and whispered, "I, too, am a sapphist."

I paused a moment, taken back by her open confession. "How did you know?" I hissed.

She winked and shrugged. "Isabel has a glow about her when she looks at you."

I pushed the embarrassing thought away and asked, "So you know her?" I rushed away from Isabel's grasp and took both of the woman's hands.

"I've heard of her. Why do you need her?"

"Someone I know is very sick. I believe she can heal them." My heartbeat thrummed past my ears. I felt faint from my heightened emotions.

"Well, I cannot say what she is or isn't capable of. I only know that if she showed her face in this city, she would be put to death. I do hope you find what you're looking for. Your face is too beautiful to remain sullen for long."

The way she said it made me shudder. She was flirting with me. But she was old enough to be my grandmother. I wasn't sure how to take her compliment. "Thank you." I backed away feeling a mix of emotion, sadness that our search proved fruitless today, happy that maybe the soap I had purchased would help Father.

Isabel and I walked out of the stall back into the throng of groping men and women and at once the trumpet blasted out, announcing a royal was approaching. I'd heard it a million times as I rode my horse through the city. Each and every person around us turned toward the sound, men removing their hats and genuflecting. Ladies, bowed, holding out their skirts in a curtsey. I gawked at the sight and Isabel pinched me hard on the arse.

"God blast it, Anna."

Coming to myself, I matched her pose, uncomfortably bowing low.

"Lord William Eduard Ameross the eighth, Duke of Grafburg." The crier announced my brother and I shook, trembling with fear that I'd been found out and was now going to be exposed. If he'd seen me, or if they noticed I was missing--

"Attention to be paid!" he shouted. "We need every healer in the city. The King has taken ill and his plaith must needs the brightest minds to discover what ails him. Come to the castle tonight at sunset. That is all."

I remained bowing low, keeping my face hidden from sight as the sound of horse hooves retreating grew quiet. If he had seen my face for even a split second, I'd have been discovered. And now the fact that the plaith was willing to admit that he needed help shone a new light on my father's sickness and how desperate the situation was.

I needed to get home with this soap and see if it worked as well as the others. And I needed to find the witch.

Chapter 4

Winter

The crates were lighter going into the wagon this time, but they still did a number on my back. I turned an excellent profit today, selling out of more than half of my stock. It was a good feeling, but it would mean a busy week for me preparing for next weekend. In two weeks was the carnival, and that would mean doubling or tripling what I brought. I sighed at the huge task ahead of me and lifted another cart into the wagon, pushing it up against the others. The wooden crates ground against the wagon bed making a loud scraping sound.