(This is the first thing I publish here, so I don't have any perception of what length a chapter should be yet. It feels a bit long, but I hope you like it.)

If any one is rereading: I love you ♡
And I love all FTR as well ♡

Trigger Warning:
This story contains and/or discuss abuse, sexual abuse, foul language and violence. I beg of you not to read the story if any of these offend you or cause you any sort of discomfort or harm. I did not write the story with any intention to offend, harm or cause anyone any form of harm. If you decide to read it, please keep in mind that the story is set during a time where women had very little say over their life or rights. Keep in mind that the story is  historical fiction.

*Very long Chapter*

-Jade-

Jade opened her eyes. She instantly squinted because of the sharp sun light that shone through the little window of the loft in which she slept. Lifting her arm, still heavy from sleep, she shielded her eyes as they adjusted to the light.

As the stinging sensation in her eyes subsided, she glanced at the window. It hadn't been washed in a fortnight and drops from the latest rainstorm had left a pattern of stains on the glass. 

The sunlight soaked the wooden floor of her room. However, her room was really the loft of her father and mother's house. Her parents and siblings shared the two bedrooms on the second floor below. There had been no more room for her on the second floor since her youngest brother Pete had come into this world.

She rolled over onto her left side, unwilling to get up. The rays of the morning's unforgiving light hit her back now instead of her face. Late summer was almost here and the days had started to shift from comfortably warm to sweltering hot. Making her chores outside tiresome and sweaty. She was still exhausted from picking weeds in her father's scorching hot fields the day before. And today would be no different. One could only wish for it to be a cloudy day...

"Just a little longer..." She moaned and closer her eyes. 

Just as she was drifting off, the neighbor's cursed rooster screamed his first call of the morning. Frustrated, Jade opened her eyes and furiously pulled herself straight up. Sitting on the side of her bed, she prayed for a swift and premature death for that stupid poultry.

"I'm up...! You wretched plague..." She growled and combed some of her long hair out of her face with her fingers. She snatched her clothes from the floor, gathering them in her lap. "Who knows?" She stretched her neck from left to right in a semi-circle. It cracked lightly, as did her back when she stretched it as well. "Maybe you can be part of the harvest celebration?"

Dragging her feet, she walked sluggishly to the stained window, bent over and studied the garden. Her clothes still in her arms. A quiet whimper slipped out between her lips when she recalled the long and dull walk she had to make to the village baker. One of her many chores was to get bread in the morning for her family. Her eyes swept the world outside her window.

Dew was still hanging on for dear life in the grass and small wild creatures sneaked around in the bushels. Everything from the neighbors' cat to their hens, which Jade would have to herd into their enclosures later. It was also one of her chores, but their neighbor gave them eggs in return. 

Jade flinched when the rooster crowed again. She turned her gaze to where his screams originated from; on the rooftop of their neighbor's house. The menace stood safely on the roof of his master's house, puffing his chest out. The ugly creature stood on his two skinny legs and stretched proudly before he crowed for the third time. This time he seemed to give it his absolute best. Jade grimaced at the noise.

"Damn vermin." She hissed and pulled her white blouse over her head, tied its strings loosely at her clavicles and before tying her long dark blue skirt around her waist. Since it would probably be as hot as the day before, she did not bother with shoes. They would come off around noon when the sun was at its highest any way.

With drowsy eyes, Jade dragged her feet towards the baker of Thornstead. Their village was moderately large, but it only had one baker, and only one inn where most of the village's festivities took place. The inn keeper, John, was a stern man but with a soft spot for Jade and her family. He'd often ask her if she would like to help out during the busy seasons when travelers were in abundance and had plenty of coins to spend. But she always declined because she had to help her father with their land and crops. Although she had considered John's offer many times since he offered to pay her quite generously for her trouble. 

When she set foot on the village main road, she regretted the decision of not wearing shoes. Wet soft mud seeped in between her toes every time she took a step. Little grains in the mud tickled the sensitive skin between her toes. 

"Good morning, Jade!" A booming voice called out behind her. She looked over her left shoulder. It was the village's blacksmith; Ulger. 

Ulger was a large man, about fifty years of age. On the verge of his last years of working as a blacksmith. He didn't look like he needed to stop working, but he had been complaining about his sore back and aching knees for a long time now. His line of work wasn't exactly the forgiving type and it had started to take its toll on him. Well, no type work for a person of their class was of the forgiving type, but being a blacksmith was doubtlessly even harder on a person and their body.

Ulger was always up before everyone else, except Jade. And as Ulger's forge was located in partially the same direction in which Jade was headed every morning, they often made their morning walks in each other's company. 

"Good morning, Ulger." She greeted him with a soft smile. "Already up?" She joked and laughed when he raised his eyebrows at her. She waited until he joined up alongside of her, feeling her feet sink a little more into the swampy mud of the road. 

"Of course, child!" Ulger said, smirking back at her with a charming light in his eyes. He was as carefree as the chirping birds above them. "Every minute of sunlight is precious!" His red, braided beard, which looked like it had been kissed by fire, twitched as he chuckled. "I have much work these days." 

"Oh?" Jade asked in wonderment and gave the blacksmith a curious look, urging him to explain. 

Ulger wiggled his mustache and inhaled sharply through his nose. "I received the largest order I've ever had a couple of weeks ago." He started with a bewildered tone in his voice. "Scores of shields, breastplates, helmets and gauntlets."  

Jade's eyebrows shot upwards in surprise. Ulger wasn't exactly a blacksmith who made a lot of weapons or armor for war. Even though Jade didn't doubt he would make good ones, she had never seen him craft something other than a pitchfork or do the occasional sharpening of a sword. She had not even heard of someone ordering armor or weapons from Ulger. The number of items on his order would normally have been the latest gossip, and yet she had heard nothing of it. 

"If I'm lucky and get it done in time, maybe they will order spears as well." Ulger chuckled. "But as my old mam used to say: don't bite off more than you can chew." He laughed. 

"Weapons and armors?" Jade asked confused. Ulger nodded proudly while looking ahead. "Who would order so many pieces?" She wondered aloud. "Who ordered it? Is there a war coming?" She asked even though she couldn't recall any kingdoms that might be in conflict, at least none she had ever heard of. Ulger laughed sweetly at her as her questions spilled out of her. "I haven't heard about any, have you?" She then asked him. 

"I have not, dear child. I haven't heard of any wars... none at all. All I know is that a young man walked into my forge about a fortnight ago and placed the order himself. He even paid for everything in advance." Ulger added. "But he didn't give me his name. He wore a very fine cloak though, and now that I think about it... a crest of some sort on the buckle of his cloak."

"He was not from the village then." Jade stated. 

No one in the village had the amount of coin it would take to place an order as large as the one Ulger had described, and no one had fine clothing either... or a crest for that matter. Especially not a young man at that - and if he was young, Jade would have known who he was, had he been from Thornstead that was. But she knew no rich young men in the village. Everyone were simple farmers or merchants getting along just well, but no one had any considerable riches. 

"Had never seen the young lad before in my life. Not even thirty summers I would guess. Close to your age... maybe a couple of years older?" He pondered. "Come to I think of it, who needs that many weapons and shields?" 

"Not a clue." Jade sighed, moving a loose strand of her away from her face.

"He is probably of noble blood." Ulger suddenly stated which caught Jade's attention immediately. She barked out a laughter. 

"Why would someone noble need weapons and armors?" Jade snorted. "All they do is sit around." At least that was what her father used to say. Farmers farm and nobles do naught. 

"For his guards perhaps." Ulger shrugged his shoulders. It was easy enough to understand that he did not care why this stranger needed the items. Ulger was simply content with the coin he'd been paid. Jade couldn't help but to smile at the man's lack of interest in the matter. Her mind was swirling with questions about this mysterious man. 

"You're just interested in the coin." She chuckled.

"Right you are, Jade." Ulger answered and laughed, his whole body shaking as he did. "There is probably nothing to worry about..."

"One can hope." Jade laughed gently and turned her eyes up ahead. The road split into two paths about fifty meters further down. Following the left path lead to Ulger's forge, and the right led to the baker and Thornstead's main square.

"Hope is overrated, girl." Ulger said, sounding like he considered himself wise for saying it. "Just accept what comes your way and life will be much easier." He added with a wide grin and a wink. Jade suppressed a snort and rolled her eyes at him. 

On her way back from the baker, Jade saw her friend Marie kissing her new husband Peter good morning outside of his parents' house. Marie had moved in with him and his parents while their own house was being built. Their wedding had been about a fortnight and a half ago and they still seemed very much in love with each other. Jade's father used to say that a while after weddings, couples learned who their new spouse really was, and the public displays of affection slowly disappeared. But for now, it didn't seem to apply to Marie and Peter, their kiss quickly turned into several. Within seconds Jade felt the need to look away in discomfort as things got more intense.

Jade smiled faintly to herself when she could hear her father in her head - grunting gloomily about something that was supposed to be joyful. She was very happy for Marie and Peter. They had been infatuated with each other since the age of fifteen, and they had not waited for the night of their wedding to... fulfill their marriage. That part had already been taken care of, and more often than Jade was comfortable with knowing. Marie gladly shared, and Jade had listened in the beginning. Now, she would stop Marie before she got started. 

Jade was impressed that the wedding hadn't come sooner because of the couples' risky but obviously exciting meetings. The chances of Marie becoming with child had been many. But for the young couple had been lucky, to their great relief.

Marie waved at Jade. She waved back. A part of her was truthfully a little jealous of Marie. She didn't feel any rush to marry, but she could miss having someone. Someone to feel safe and at peace with... Having never been in love, she couldn't imagine what it would be like. Marie used to say that it felt like being dizzy, but that one was still clear in mind at the same time, while it sometimes felt like your stomach would turn itself inside out... This aspect of love, Jade didn't find very romantic though. But she still longed for when it would happen to her. 

"Keep in mind, dear Jade. Most young couples don't get to choose whom they marry. If it is a great match, it will work out in the end." Jade mimicked her mother's, making her voice shrill like her mother's. 

"And if whatever boy you marry doesn't make it work, I will take care of him." Jade's father would always add after his wife, whom in her turn, would roll her eyes at him. She would then tell him that he was not allowed to hit Jade's future husband.

Jade's mother dreamed of a succesful man for her daughter. Preferably someone with his own piece of land, or someone who was the son of a more successful family than their own. She dreamed, very unrealistically, that they would give away Jade to a son of a middle-class merchant. If lucky, Jade would marry a hardworking man, her mother would say. A young, strong man who could father equally strong and healthy children. Children, whom then could take care of Jade in her last years. Her mother's plans were set out to make sure her oldest daughter would live out her life in comfort.

However, Jade was quite content, maybe because she'd never known anything other than this life. Her father was a farmer who grew the most beautiful flowers. Jade's favorites were the snow-white roses. There were bushels of them in their garden and her father tended to them every day. Jade helped around with crops on her father's fields but not with the flowers. Only her father was allowed to work in the garden. What else were there in life for a farmer's daughter? Nothing, and it suited Jade just fine.

All the embarrassing things her mother used to say came rushing as Jade came closer to the house. Her mother wouldn't hesitate to tell every semi-respectable man she could find about Jade's qualities. "Our Jade would be a good mother. Look how well fitted her hips are for birthing children. Oh, and she's very good at sewing."

These were words her mother saw fit to tell a young man, a strangers even. Jade always felt like a cow that was to be sold for breeding every time it happened. It was very interesting how her mother never mentioned the sides of Jade which she got scolded for. Traits which Jade had gotten from her father; a sharp tongue, stubbornness and questioning things that did not concern her, or things that made her angry. These sides never slipped past her mother's lips.

-William-

A couple of weeks earlier...

"Your grace. We cannot stay in such a place as this one." Sir Thomas, William's mother's guard remarked with disgust as he eyed their surroundings as they stepped inside. It was his mother's words spoken by her guard. She would lose her mind if she knew William had stayed the night in such a "low-class" establishment as the inn they were in. 

"Calm down, Thomas. It's just one night." William muttered, taking his gloves off.

The inn was the only establishment that offered a bed in this village and they had just arrived from a whole day's journey on horseback from his castle farther up north. 

They were traveling back to his father's castle after having been away for over two moons. William had been handling the last details of his soon to be home. During this time, his mother had been writing him numerous letters about girls he should court. In her letters, she begged him to come back as soon as possible to meet some lord's daughter she deemed a very good match for him. 

His mother seemed terrified of the thought of him not marrying a noble daughter of her choosing. She had been extremely upset after he had rejected four girls before he had left, which she also expressed in her letters. 

She had invited them to the castle without his knowing, surprising him with an extra seating at the table when they were to eat, putting him in the uncomfortable situation where the girl more than often thought he were interested, because his mother had lied to her, leaving him looking cruel when he had to reject the girl. He wanted nothing more than to stay up north but he needed to return home to help his father.

"Mother won't find out, if you shut that mouth of yours and not tell her about it." He added sharply to the guard. "Do you think you can do that?" 

"Yes, your grace." Thomas muttered. 

Inside the inn there was a celebration. The barkeep had his hands full with drunken guests wanting refills. William searched the room, bored of his guard, and saw a young woman dressed in white, with a wreath of flowers in her hair.

A wedding... he thought.

She was laughing loudly at the groom spilling his ale. William turned and continued to study the people around them. It was extremely crowded and the majority was severely intoxicated. Sir Thomas flinched when every man passing William came a little too close. He even pushed one who accidentally brushed up against William's arm. 

"Please, calm down." William said and gave the guard a stern look. "Do not draw attention to us. Go and get us two rooms." He added and left the stressed guard.

He went and sat down by the end of the bar's left part. It was a little less crowded but not quieter. While waiting for sir Thomas, William ordered a tankard of ale. He drank it and enjoyed being without his shadow for a brief moment.

From nowhere William heard a laughter over the deafening sound of the drunk guests. It was a woman's laughter, warm and wonderful. He raised his gaze from the counter. At first he could only see the faces of men. Then, at the opposite side of the bar from him, he saw a girl. She was the one who had laughed. His eyes locked onto her for a moment.

She was very beautiful; hair a dark shade of brown, eyes of a light, icy, blue shade he had never seen before. They were bewitching. Her hair hung in over the counter as she leaned in over it. With a smile she was shouting at the barkeep to gain his attention. He was too busy to answer her but he gave her an impatient look. 

"John!" She called out. "John, the bride needs a refill!"

"I'm a little busy, Jade! You'll have to wait, just like everyone else." He answered her, sounding very annoyed.

William saw that it wasn't this Jade he was annoyed with; it was the young boys in front of him. He slapped a boy in the back of his neck when he caught him trying to grab a hold of a tankard of ale, before or without paying. 

"Keep your fingers to yourself, Karl." He warned the boy with a stern dark voice.

William looked at the girl and noticed that she was concentrating on the conflict. Suddenly, he saw her hands sliding over the counter and down. Her blue eyes were fixed on the barkeep. While she was leaning in over the counter her blouse fell down a little bit at her chest, exposing two soft hills which caught William's attention. He stared for a second, or two, and then looked at her face. She looked so sneaky and proud that she managed to do this. William's heart started to beat harder, hoping that she would succeed in her endeavors. 

Suddenly, the barkeep bellowed at her. "JADE! What in the Gods' names do you think you're doing?" 

"I'm sorry, John!" She yelled back. "I promise, I'm not leaving without paying. I'll be back!" She ensured him. He called some disappointing things after her while she elbowed her way through the other guests. William caught himself smiling from ear to ear. He put his hand over his mouth and laughed silently to himself. This girl had awoken something in him he didn't even know existed.

He then took out the coins that the girl owed and slid them over the counter. The barkeep, turned over to serve new customers and saw the coins. "The girl's debt." William said shortly and drank his ale. 

The man on the other side of the counter gave him a strange, confused look, but took the coins and continued working. William could hear him swear to himself. 

After, William went to follow the girl. She disappeared to the other end of the room. He felt an urge to speak to her. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. So full of life and the owner of a laughter that had bewitched him. 

William looked over his shoulder to see if Thomas was around. He was in luck; the guard was still waiting to get service. Without giving it any more thought, he finished his tankard and went into the ocean of people. A very drunk young man stumbled into him. It was the groom. 

"Oh, excuuushe meeh." The man slurred. William looked at him impatiently. "I do not know youuu." He continued and William gave him a bothered stare. He then stumbled on without saying anything else. William looked over at Thomas, who still hadn't gotten the keys to the room. He was looking very tired of waiting and seemed to be losing his temper. But he hadn't noticed that William had left his seat.

After a couple of minutes William still couldn't find the girl in the crowd. It was like she'd disappeared into thin air, until someone shouted her name. "JADE!" William immediately turned to where the voice came from. From nowhere the girl appeared, it felt like there were twenty people between them. 

"I'm coming!" she answered.

-Jade-

"I have to go." 

"No! Stay!" Marie shouted and even then it was hard to hear her. The music was very loud but not as loud as the wedding guests. Jade shook her head and gave her friend the tankard she had just snatched from John.

"I have to." She said and felt bad. It was after all her friend's wedding. "You know how my father worries if I'm not home in time." 

"In time? He knows that you are at my wedding, doesn't he?" Marie sounded disappointed which Jade could understand. Her father had told her to come home well before dawn. And it was the darkest hour now, which meant that soon she would be late. 

"You know that he does." She answered. Marie gave her a sour look. "I think you should focus on your new husband. I don't think he will be able to perform later, given the amount of ale he's had." Jade said to make Marie think of something else. Marie rolled her eyes and looked at Peter. He had just shouted to someone that he didn't know them. 

"I hate that he drinks so much." Marie muttered and looked at Jade. They both drank a sip of their own ale while they watched Peter stumble on. 

"Are you not mad that he won't be able to... you know?" 

"What? Fuck?" Marie asked and laughed as Jade choked on her drink. 

"Something like that, yes." Jade said and dried the corners of her mouth, a couple of drops of ale had spilled on the sides of her mouth.

"What does it matter?" She threw a glance at her new husband and smirked. "I'll just use it as an excuse to yell at him when he's done something stupid." Jade frowned but Marie didn't notice. 

"I'm leaving." She said. 

"Do you want someone to walk you home?" 

"No, none of these idiots could find their way back here afterwards." Jade answered. Marie chuckled and Jade left.

-William-

The girl was talking to the bride. Something that the bride had said made her spill her ale in laughter. Then she went back to the bar. 

William walked with difficulty through the crowd and wished that his own guard, Loren, was there. He would've made way but without questioning why William wanted to talk to her. Thomas was probably pissing his trousers by now, not knowing where William was. 

"John!" The girl shouted at the barkeep. The locked eyes and she held up a little coin purse. He waved at her and shouted that it was already taken care of. Confused, she lowered her arm and looked around for the one who had paid her bill but her eyes never fell on him, frustratingly enough. William was still not able to get to her and he wanted to talk to her so badly.

She left and William followed her to the door with his eyes. Something in him had an urge to follow her. After a quick look around, he established that no one was observing him. He then set off towards the door.

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I really hoped you liked it! Hit that 'vote' button if you did! Your votes are wildly appreciated by yours truly! :)

Published: Augusti 2019

Updated: 30th of Oktober 2021

Much love,

Jenny