chapter 6
Some of the villagers were at the pub to drink their lives away, or what life they had left of it anyway. Some of the villagers went home to drink silently. Jaysa and her mother were the some that did just that. The place Jaysa lived was a small shack that was falling apart. When it rained, water would leak into their homes from the ceiling on to the wooden floor making the wood shrink and shift up from its original spot. If the women don't pay attention to where they were walking, they would trip over the wood and strain something like they have done before. There was a table in the middle of the room. Which were three wooden cracked chairs that surrounded the wooden table. On the left side of the small shack was a large opening space that was covered with bricks, that area held a huge cauldron. Two long sticks were mounted on the ground stood upwards on both sides of the huge pot. On the end of the sides were two short items that faced diagonally toward the opening and one facing the wall. That was used for the next long item to hold up the pot and placed on the V shape of the two other sticks. The fire crackled underneath the pot as the young girl's mother stirred the liquid inside the cauldron. Jaysa sat at the table exhausted from the hard work she had put her body through today.
"My dear," Jaysa's mother spoke. Jaysa looked at her mother. The older woman wore her usually long hair up in a knotted bun. She stood tall and had no fat on her body. "Would you mind setting the table for me?" Jaysa replied with a sure. Jaysa retrieved the wooden bowls and spoons from the counter. Since they were the only ones in the home, her mother put all the other extra items away. Jaysa knew why her mother did that and never questioned it. The younger teen placed the eating supplies on the table getting it ready for the meal they were going eat. Jaysa's mother was stirring the liquid in the pot when she suddenly got light headed and collapsed on the floor. Jaysa stopped what she was doing when she saw her mother on the floor.
"Mother!" Are you alright?" Jaysa spoke with panic written all over her face. Jaysa ran over to her mother, lifting her up in her arms. Her mother comforted her daughter by holding onto her arm and spoke,
"My dear, I'm fine, but you need to worry about yourself. You are a young girl. If anyone should be worried, it should be you and your health.
"I'm fine mother." Jaysa exclaimed. "But it's you that I'm worried about, no matter what you say, you are not as young as you used to be. You shouldn't push yourself so much. It would be bad if something happened to you." Jaysa looked down at her mother. Her eyes glittered with the water that was ready to fall. Her mother saw the look in her daughter's face and decided to change the mood. The older lady sat up and looked at her daughter and spoke,
"Are you trying to imply something?" The tears soon dried in the young girl's eyes when she heard her mother speak.
"No, no, no." Jaysa said waving her hands in front of her. She let her hands fall freely down to her side and replied, "I'm just saying that you need to watch yourself because you said I'm a young girl so you have to stay healthy to take care of me until the day I die." Jaysa spoke quietly to her mother. The teen girl hugged her mother. She was the only person in her life that she loved. Jaysa's mother glanced to the side and noticed the liquid in the cauldron was boiling over creating a mess on the floor. The older woman rushed to her feet and scurried over to the pot. She threw some water on the fire and turned to face her daughter.
"Well, dinners ready."
The next day, Jaysa was outside at a large table that was placed next the fields. The table was used for sorting through the vegetables that were picked. The women and men that worked in the fields would leave the vegetables on table to sort through before heading back to the fields and filling their grass basket again. Items left on the table were for the men and women that sat at the table. Sometimes, the guards would swap out the people that were working in the fields to working at the tables. Jaysa only wish that her mother was sitting in her spot instead. There was nothing that Jaysa could do it even if she wanted to. Jaysa glanced around. She saw the rows of tables and guards walking around making sure that the peasants were doing their job. The guards almost looked identical. They were all well-groomed; even their shirts and jackets they wore had no hints of wrinkles. The guards also wore tight leather pants with knee high boots. Strapped to their side was a long sword that was sheathed away, but everyone still knew what it was and how dangerous it would be if they decide to use it.
The man walking by Jaysa's table was not as tall as the other guards. You could see some of his muscles through his jacket though. Jaysa knew that if she or anyone else got out of line the guards would be on them with no escape. When the guard was at a distance, Jaysa would keep her mouth shut, but there were some women that do not think like her. Jaysa was not that stupid. She wanted to avoid getting into trouble. While Jaysa was sorting through the items she felt something rub against her. When she looked down she noticed it was a sheep.
It must have escape from its pen. Jaysa thought. The animal rubbed against her and so she reached over and grabbed a small red fruit called a bemolg. The fruit is not sold anywhere else except this Kingdom. No one knows how the fruit was created because it had been made several generations ago. The texture was soft and fuzzy almost like a peach on the outside. The inside was oozing with the sweet juices of the fruit that some people find addicting and delicious. Jaysa gave the food to the animal that ate it with glee. Some of the juice oozed out, but she knew the animal loved it. The animal trotted off and Jaysa smiled. She had wished so many times that she could be one of these animals. She would save her mother as well. They would live outside the gates of this hell and run away to the meadows where they could have freedom. Oh how she would love to do that, but it was just a stupid wish. As if she could turn into an animal, only in her dreams. Jaysa randomly glanced up and saw one of the guards walking around and did not want to make eye contact. Jaysa turned her eyes away and soon realized the animal that bugged her for the food was now heading towards the man. She didn't know what was about to happen. The guard was not paying attention lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud. Some of the women began to giggle at the tough man that now laid face down on the ground. The animal didn't run into the man, but yet, laid down in front of the man, which made him trip over the animal. Jaysa along with the women could not help but crack a smile. The man pulled himself off the ground embarrassed at what just happened. The guard yelled out,
"You fuckin' piece of "shit!" He kicked the animal in the stomach, which made the animal yelp in pain and run off. "Yeah you better fuckin' run, or I'll make you my next meal." The man was completely flustered. Jaysa mentally glared at the man. How she wanted to kick him where it matters. The guard turned at the women and growled, while given them an evil scowl. Another guard noticed what had happened and ran towards him. He was shorter than the man that had been watching over the workers. When the man spoke, it was deep and rough.
"Are you all right?" He asked the taller man.
"I'm not sure. I think I bruised something." The taller guard replied.
"Maybe you should rest. I can take over." The shorter man suggested.
"Fine I'll do that." He agreed. "If I feel better I can come back to finish my shift" the shorter man nodded and watched as the taller guard turned and began to limp away. Everyone knew then that the man had hurt himself, but no one really cared, they believed that he deserved it.