1307 - Saying Goodbye
CW: mourning, grief, death
The Chapmans barely noticed the new year begin. The entire family was in mourning, even little Teffan being the youngest wasn't her happy self with everyone grieving around her. Their usually loud home had become quieter now that two voices ceased to exist. There was no better way to describe it other than that a tragedy had happened.
Olyff was the one who handled it the worst. The winter months felt long and cold, with only house work and child care to attempt to distract her, and most days after her chores she would lay in bed and stare at her thatched roof ceiling. Her heart felt hollow, she had just lost two young children in the space of a month and it felt like she would never move on.
CW over.
The renovated house had now settled and each room was adequately decorated for each purpose. They had turned what was once a small stone bungalow into quite a large farmhouse. The kitchen stayed in the same place but now featured a separate living area in the center of the building. At the end of the home was the few cribs they had left, one for each of their toddlers. This room featured a ladder that went up to Pipa's separate sleeping space with a fencing that opened up to look over their new living area. From Pipa's room you can see the parent's bedroom, which was accessible by ladder through the kitchen.
CW: funeral, infant death, grief
With Olyff's absence while grieving Byrhtnoth took responsibility with organising the funeral for his two children. He made frequent trips to the local church and graveyard to finalise all the details with the local pastor, paying the burial fee in full quite quickly to their surprise. The funeral was scheduled midway through January and eventually the day arrived.
This winter had been graceful to Praaven as it was missing any snow over the fields, only a nip of frost here and there. Even in Olyff's misery she felt a thought cross her mind that the crops would be happy and bountiful in the summer as a result.
When the morning of the funeral arrived Byrhtnoth let his wife sleep in and rest up for an emotional day. He and Pipa got everyone ready and set for the occasion and they planned to leave the youngest children at his parent's place for the day; they were delighted to spend time with their grandchildren afterall. Byrhtnoth had also delivered the bodies of his deceased children to the church earlier in the week so all they had to do was travel to the village.
The Chapmans were far too poor to afford any funeral attire, even if they managed to pay for the funeral and burial service in full. After the home renovations and survival through the winter they were back to the usual savings any peasant family would have. They put on their best gowns however and Byrhtnoth found Olyff sitting on the bed just before they left.
"Olyff, dear," he gently called out, "it's time to say goodbye." He walked slowly towards her from where he stood, the wooden floor creaking underneath him. Olyff felt him get closer and awaited his touch, and he delivered. He sat behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, kissing her cheek and waiting for a response. A laboured sigh followed.
"The girls are waiting downstairs, we don't want to be late... It's inevitably going to be a tough day today but I will be right beside you every moment we endure." She looked at her husband as he finished his sentence, tears welling up in her eyes already. Olyff looked down and tried to blink them away, Byrhtnoth gave her forehead a soft kiss before taking her hand in his. They stood up and walked slowly to the ladder, Olyff hesitated to go downstairs.
"Don't worry about being strong for the girls," explained Byrhtnoth, one foot on the ladder. "They all understand the loss we have gone through. You're allowed to cry, my love... please do."
And she did just that. She tried to keep herself together on the walk to her husband's parent's home but she didn't stop any tears from rolling down her cheeks. Once at their destination Byrhtnoth's parents said their condolences to the parents and hugged Olyff tight. They were sorry to not attend the burial but they were happy to watch their little ones.
Pipa was asked again if she was sure she wanted to go to the church but she nodded with assurance. She may have not met Eawulf at all but she took care of Mabel and felt it right to say goodbye to her sister with her parents. They said their goodbyes and continued on to the village graveyard, only a short walk from the grandparent's bungalow.
On their quick journey there the sun brightened the greenery around them, peering from behind the grey clouds that loomed over Praaven every winter. The parents couldn't help but think that this was The Watcher looking over them as they went through a tough situation, consoling themselves that everything had to happen for a reason.
As they arrived the church's pastor was waiting in the grassy graveyard behind the holy building. He greeted the small group and commented on the brilliant weather. The ceremony was very short, it wasn't common for a peasant family to have a ceremony at all, but the small coffins containing the three deceased Chapman children were lowered into the dug up holes by Byrhtnoth and the gravekeep one after the other.
The three graves were placed next to one another and small headstones were erected in the freshly patted dirt, each reading their name, year of birth and death and a short description of the person. The pastor said a prayer and left the family to mourn. It was only after the priest left did Olyff burst into painful sobs, the realisation of never seeing these children again had settled and her once hollow heart now felt full of grief once again.
Her husband rushed her into his arms and held her tightly as she cried into his shoulder. He felt a few tears trickle from his eyes too, it was impossible to not feel sadness when a life is taken away far too soon. Pipa watched her parents grieve and couldn't hold back the tears either which her father noticed and motioned to her to join their hug. She clung to his side, gripping at his winter tunic and wiping her salty tears against it.
Their eyes eventually became dry and they stood in silence for a short while, glancing at each grave and thinking fondly of each relative they had lost. Pipa spotted some wildflowers growing near the cemetery walls and asked her parents if she was allowed to pick them. They gave her permission and moments later she set some down on each grave. It made Olyff crack a smile.
And so, there they were. The first to go, Cyneswith Chapman back in 1302, had not been forgotten by her parents but it was still unusual for them to bury old remains. And then, one after another, Eauwulf Chapman born asleep and Mabel Chapman too weak to thrive in 1306. They had now been placed to rest and life had to go on. The family looked at one another with soft expressions and agreed that it was time to leave.
CW over.
Before venturing back to collect their youngest children Olyff and Byrhtnoth decided to stop by the local pub that was just a few steps from the church. It had been so long since either of them relished an ale, with Olyff being pregnant every year and Byrhtnoth working hard to keep the family fed, so they thought a moment in the tavern would be pleasant.
The Lughaven pub was quite old and musty and there were few patrons inside early in the day but it was just what the Chapmans were looking for. Olyff ordered two pints of their house ale and a small glass of mead for Pipa. The family sat near the bar and enjoyed their drinks before venturing off again.
"Why can't I drink any ale?" asked Pipa with a slightly annoyed tone.
"It has alcohol in it, love," answered her father. "Alcohol makes water safe to drink but it's not very good for children your age." Pipa pushed back her mead with a huff and she slumped down.
"If you drink enough mead you would get the same effects of our ale," Olyff commented as she swirled her drink in her pint glass. "And besides, mead has honey in it which will make you grow big and strong." She winked at Pipa and ended up changing her mind on the mead with her gulping down every drop!
Before they left the pub Byrhtnoth decided to check in on his wife, she seemed to be smiling more since they left the church but he wanted to hear it from her instead of making assumptions.
"I feel more at ease," confessed Olyff, "whether it's because they were all finally laid to rest or if I've just ran out of tears to cry... I feel better. I hope to continue feeling better too."
The Chapmans went back to Byrhtnoth's parent's bungalow and collected the young ones and skipped on home. The sun was setting soon and they would make it home right on time before sunset. Although it was an emotionally charged day it was still a successful one and it started the tradition of burying relatives with the Chapman name at the Lughaven graveyard.
As the weather began to grow warmer the family spent more time outdoors. Chores had to be taken care of and children had plenty of growing to do. Pipa continued to be a great help in the home as she cleaned up after every meal, fed the farm animals and spent some time playing with her sisters. Linyeve was growing to be her favourite as she was the newly chatty one.
Linyeve had just passed her fourth birthday and was confidently walking and talking but the parents decided she is still far too young to join Pipa in various responsibilities; let her have just a year or two more of pure childhood bliss!
Eddida and Teffan were getting close in skill to Linyeve but were still a little too immature to follow in her footsteps. They continued to be happy little babies and especially thrived after the heaviness of grief subsided from the oldest of the Chapmans.
Olyff still spent some time grieving after the collective funeral but once she was fully energised like her old self she found their farm, right across the road from their home, in a state of overgrowth! She got right to pulling out any weeds and unwanted shrubbery from the ground and sowed new vegetables that would nourish them this year.
CW: miscarriage, infant death.
It was around this time that Pipa noticed her mother was doing better and she wanted to ask a deep question. She found her in isolation as she scrubbed some dirty laundry in the washbasin as she came out to feed the chickens in the morning. They exchanged greetings, spent a few moments in silence before Pipa broke it,
"Mam, may I ask you a sad question?"
"What is it my dear?" asked Olyff, slight concern piercing through her voice.
"What happened the last time you were giving birth?"
Olyff froze as her daughter finished her sentence and let go of the washing. She slumped forward and looked down at the linen articles swimming in the water, feeling a flood of unwanted emotion rush into her chest. She cleared her throat, collecting herself in the process, and replying,
"I lost your baby brother."
Lost? thought Pipa to herself, lost where? Her premature mind couldn't fathom how you could lose a child that you carried for nine months, she had to press for more.
"What do you mean by... lost?"
These words were striking Olyff harder than she expected, just as she started to ease on her grieving it seemed to all come back but she knew Pipa wasn't to blame for these feelings. She turned to see her daughter waiting for a response, the chicken feed slowly sprinkling out of her cupped hands.
"How can I say this..." she began, "as your brother was coming out into the world something went wrong inside of my body. I was in a lot of pain and when it was over... he was asleep."
"Asleep? Why didn't he awake?" Pipa's mind raced with all possible reasons before being met with the harsh reality from her mother.
"Asleep is a prettier word than dead." A chill ran down Pipa's spine as her mother uttered the words and she didn't know how to react other than continue to scatter the oats and barley seeds with her head down. Olyff continued scrubbing and continued talking,
"When I finally held him in my arms he looked like he really was asleep... but he just wasn't breathing. This tragedy can happen to anyone anywhere and unfortunately... it happened to us." The mother and daughter didn't say another word until they both finished their respective chores.
CW over.
On occasions Pipa would go to the local markets to sell her baked goods, just like she did towards the end of 1306. There was one special occasion where she joined her father in going into the Praaven keep and bartering at a huge market that happened once a year in the town center.
There Byrhtnoth received the honour of meeting the King of Praaven, King Edmund, as he perused the various stalls of this momentous annual market. He sampled various vegetables, fish and even Pipa's baked delicacies and complimented the Chapmans for their hard work, spending a handsome amount of coin on their produce.
Byrhtnoth was ecstatic, this was the recognition he hoped and dreamed of but never could even imagine becoming a reality! It was in that moment that King Edmund's advisor shook hands with Byrhtnoth and sealed a deal that he would deliver a large batch of produce quarterly to the Praaven keep as their catch and yield was deemed a higher quality than any other peasant's in the land.
As the sun set behind the keep walls the Chapman's packed away what few items they didn't sell and counted the money they had earned. Byrhtnoth was gobsmacked and couldn't fathom what to do with all this coin, it was even more than what he had earned last year for the renovations!
His mind found a certain thought as he looked at his oldest daughter and realised that in 10 or so years he would have to start paying dowries for all of the daughters he had. Perhaps sealing this money in a lockbox and hiding it away for emergencies would be best and so he did just that as soon as they arrived home.
As summer came, summer went, with nothing astounding happening. Byrhtnoth continued his fishing trips and brought home food and any spare coin he earned from his fishing, staying closer to the Praaven borders than he did last year.
The girls all got along well and grew splendidly, though Linyeve was becoming a more grumpy child often criticising her younger sister Eddida for copying her in various ways. Eddida was hurt but loved her sister too much to sulk for long.
Olyff was happy to refrain from pregnancy after her loss last year. She would get intimate with her husband more as the year went on but they both stopped any deeds before they got anywhere close to trying for a child. It was a joint decision as they truly just wanted to look out for whatever family they had left over.
The harvest month arrived and the yield was bountiful. Olyff attempted to preserve some veggies in a similar fashion to how they preserved their fish for the winter, taking some cabbages and carrots and pickling them in a salt brine to hopefully snack on in the dreary months that were creeping up ever so quickly.
Once her farm work was over with she continued to care for the home and the farm, cleaning the stable when Byrhtnoth was out riding Beauty and making sure everything was neat, tidy and tucked away inside the house. But even with all of this she found plenty of time for her daughters.
And with that the first frost had arrived. Byrhtnoth spent less time fishing and more time indoors with his girls. His daughters had gotten used to the colder months meaning more play time with their father and they were more excited to wake up every day. He loved lifting them up and spinning them in the air as they giggled with glee, their laughter bouncing off every stone wall of their home.
Olyff enjoyed her warm baths during these long winter nights and even struck up some interesting conversations with her daughters, especially Linyeve.
"Why is dada not fishing anymore?" she asked one night.
"It's too cold outside," explained Olyff as she scrubbed her body in the bath, "all the fish hide away in the cold water."
"I want to see a fish swim!" exclaimed Linyeve as she held up an apple in the air. Olyff chuckled.
"I promise you, when you're older, your father will bring you on a fishing trip and you will see many fish swim in rivers and lakes across the land."
Linyeve smiled a half toothy smile and proceeded to babble a make-believe story as she bounced her apple along the ground.
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