Date

William pounced and I let out a squeal.

"Hey! What are you doing!?"

William shrugged. "Just seeing if I can get the drop on the most famous hunter girl around here".

Of course I wasn't truly surprised. I followed every one of his movements from the noises he made. It was clear to me despite my ears being muffled, but he likely had no idea of the ruckus he was producing while he "sneaked" up on me.

He fell silent, and I sat up and searched his face. I didn't have to worry about hiding my eyes in the shadows of the barn's loft. He seemed to be fidgeting nervously.

"What is it? Is something the matter?" I asked delicately.

"Uh, well, the harvest festival is next week. I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?" William asked.

The harvest festival. Autumn Solstice. It was right around Henry's birthday. I was going to miss Henry's first birthday. Even if I ran all the way home I would likely not make it back in time. There was a lump in my throat and moisture in the corners of my eyes.

"Is something wrong? You don't want to go with me?"

"No, that's not it. I just miss my family", I hurried to reassure him. He immediately brightened up considerably.

"Then you'll come? There'll be music, and dancing, and food, and drinks. It's really fun".

Crowds of drunken people pressed together and dancing. It sounded dangerous, rather than fun. Someone knocking into me could tear my disguise off, and then I would be surrounded by drunken, angry, hate-filled humans who'd be happy to add my lynching to the holiday's festivities. No thank you.

"I don't like crowds", I said. William didn't let that discourage him, though.

"Then how about at least going together to the temple service? It's not so crowded, and there's always nice food there on the holidays, and we can hang out at the edge of the party later. We don't have to mix in together with everybody".

That sounded more reasonable, and I was curious to see the inside of a temple and participate in a service. I've never done either of those things before. It was a little risky, but that made it exciting. Besides, the chances of exposure were no greater than when I went shopping in the village. I nodded.

William grinned and pumped his fist, then switched to covering his mouth with it while clearing his throat. I smiled at his antics.

"So anyway, come here early and we can go to the temple together in the morning", he said. "Or wait, is it closer for you to go there directly?"

"Are you trying to find out where I live?" I teased. He raised his hands before him in protest.

"What? No. If I wanted to know that I'd just follow you. Or I could ask, I guess".

"It's fine. I'll come here. That way we can spend more time together".

I awoke early and made my way slowly to William's house, careful not to sully my newest dress. It was mostly a deep shade of green, but with many long white frills, and a little tighter than necessary around the chest, waist, and hips. It was quite impractical for any purpose other than impressing males.

As to my boots, they were a relatively new pair. The old ones were too worn, and were designed for warmer weather. Now that autumn was approaching the weather was getting cold, especially in the mornings and evenings, so I bought a new pair that was lined with fur on the inside, to keep my feet warm. I was planning on saving them for the truly cold weather of the winter, but brought them out for William.

I left my earrings behind, since I would be the only one who would even know it was there. I could hardly show off my silver earrings when doing so would also expose my ears, and with them my identity, and wearing them under my new head scarf would be too uncomfortable. My ears were getting crushed enough as it was without some bits of metal being pressed into them. I did wear my arm band, though. Exposing my upper arm to the public would be too scandalous, but I toyed with the idea of showing it to William later, when we were alone.

In that way I arrived at his house. The sky outside was already bright, although the sun had yet to rise. Inside I could hear the bustle of the early morning as the members of the family scrambled to get ready. I knocked loudly on the door, but no one responded, so a moment later I knocked again, louder.

The door swung open at the hand of a sandy-haired girl of about 12 years of age, who quickly glanced at me before roaring in the general direction of the upstairs.

"WILLIAM! YOUR GIRL IS HERE!"

I blushed. I still found it embarrassing to be considered as anyone's girl, especially since it was still a new experience for me. William's sister paid it no mind and rushed back into the house, leaving me standing in front of the door with little idea of what I should be doing now.

Before long William appeared. The edges of his hair were wet. His face was unusually clean, and so were his clothes. It must have been the first time I'd ever seen him in a shirt whose color was even close to white, too.

"Hey, is that a new dress? You look good", William said by way of greeting.

"Thanks. So do you", I replied. He noticed! My blush deepened.

William invited me to sit on a chair inside, and I watched as the chaos slowly resolved itself. Before long the grandparents and little children were sitting in the cart, the horse was hitched, and we started making our way to the center of the village. All around us we could see similar processions from the surrounding farmsteads, all heading in the same direction.