1308 - Flowers in Bloom
The new year started off nice and peacefully as the Chapmans took shelter from the cold frost outside. Like many previous years they spent more time together as a family, playing games with the little ones and warming up with some stew by the fire, hiding away in their large stone farmhouse. There were many moments when the children would get bored with the same routine but they took some time to look out the boarded windows and get excited when spring would come again.
In their waiting they celebrated Linyeve's fifth birthday! Before the winter began in 1307 Byrhtnoth took some of the money he saved up from his successful day at the annual Praaven keep market and spent it on some flour, honey and nuts for any future birthdays that would come around. And so with these materials Olyff conjured up another delicious honey cake as it really felt like a major milestone for her children to get one step closer to independence.
The family gathered around to watch Linyeve blow out her candles on her birthday cake, playing with some noise makers that Olyff and Pipa made from straw, leaves and snail shells. Olyff held her daughter up to the honey cake they placed on the table and helped her blow out the thin candles, urging her to make a wish! Linyeve closed her eyes, scrunched up her nose and tried her best to wish for her to go fishing with her father.
Every time Byrhtnoth would come home from a fishing trip, no matter how long or short his departure, Linyeve was the most enthusiastic out of her siblings to ask how many fish he caught. Her father recognised her enthusiasm and once everyone gave Linyeve a hug he crouched down to her with one hand behind his back.
"I've got a very special present for your fifth birthday," he smiled. Linyeve's face beamed with excitement and she erupted into cheers and laughter once he revealed that he had a small fishing rod that he made by hand hiding behind his back. Although traditionally he would be teaching his son to fish alongside him The Watcher had only given him daughters but this wasn't going to stop him from passing on the skill to one of his offspring.
Linyeve boasted about how she was going to reel in the biggest and most prettiest fish in all of Praaven while waving her child-size rod above her head before being told to place it down and enjoy some cake that her mother made. Olyff served a slice to each member of the family and they all sat together munching away at their portions.
"When will we go fishing?" muffled Linyeve with her mouth full, getting a disapproving glance from her mother.
"When it finally gets warmer outside," answered Byrhtnoth. "Hopefully in a month or so, but it really depends on the weather."
Linyeve groaned with impatience and said in a high pitched voice, "but I want to go now! Why did you give me the fishing rod then?"
"It's your birthday. Birthday presents are given to people on their birthdays... not when the weather gets better!"
Linyeve crossed her arms and looked down at the table with disgust. She felt like everything her father said was against her in particular, like he was punishing her for being eager to use her present at a moment's notice.
"I'm sorry, my love," reasoned her father. "I can't control the weather but let us pray to The Watcher that spring comes early this year." Olyff smiled at his comment but Linyeve rolled her eyes.
"I've actually got one more present for you," spoke up Pipa as she finished her honey cake slice. She stood up and ran to her room to retrieve it and did the same as her father once she returned, hiding the present behind her back. Linyeve stood up, a few inches shorter than Pipa, and waited for the reveal.
Pipa presented a knitted headband to her younger sister and said, "I made this myself for you to wear." Linyeve took the headband from her sister and tried it on. A perfect fit, and it kept her dark straight hair out of her face. Even though she wasn't excited about this gift as much as she was about the fishing rod she was still very thankful and gave Pipa a hug.
"Thank you, sister. I love it," she said softly. Pipa embraced her tightly and commented once she pulled away,
"It really suits you!"
The frost took a little longer to melt away this year but it didn't stop Olyff from teaching Linyeve the chores she would begin doing now that she was old enough. Pipa joined in on the teaching and got Linyeve up to speed quicker than expected. The two of them would group up in the mornings and feed the farm animals, collect the eggs and wash the dishes after breakfast, quickly making these chores their morning routine.
The last few weeks before spring finally settled into the land Byrhtnoth spent lots of time with his two youngest daughters. Eddida was still small but her fifth birthday was ready to be celebrated at the end of the year, while Teffan still had over a year to go before she was five years old. The both of them were very chatty and enjoyed playing with their father while their two older sisters learned the ways of farm life.
As the last of the ice melted away from the grassy hills of Praaven everyone had a lot of work to do across the farm. Olyff got straight into working on their crops, sowing new ones and maintaining any dormant ones in their field across the road. The parents agreed that more work would be accomplished if Pipa and Linyeve handled separate chores and so Linyeve had to learn how to clean the stables, which she complained about and attempted to avoid every time.
Byrhtnoth had not yet begun his fishing travels as the spring time was still young and instead helped out with some outstanding house work that needed to be done. He watched over his two eldest daughters completing their house work and scrubbed any dirty laundry and when he had some free time he minded his youngest.
After a dreary and rainy week the sun shined bright in the cloudless sky and Byrhtnoth decided that it was the perfect time to take Linyeve on her first fishing experience! He approached her after breakfast one day, once their chores were out of the way, and delivered his plan to her to which she responded,
"Yes! Yes, finally! Thank The Watcher, I've been waiting for this day to come!" She jumped up and down with excitement, her white linen dress bouncing with her and her father laughed with joy.
He prepared a pack with bait, some food and their two fishing rods and swung it onto his shoulders. He extended a hand out to his daughter and said,
"Come now, we will travel to a small, calm pond not far from home for your first fishing day."
Linyeve grabbed her father's hand with enthusiasm and they left home, walking approximately an hour before they reached a wild pond. There were reeds and bushes surrounding the pond's perimeter and thick trees granted some shade from the bright sun above. And so began Linyeve's first lesson in catching her first fish.
After many long hours of learning to hook on some bait, throw the line into the waters and reel in the fishing line Linyeve finally felt a bite on her rod. She began pulling it in with fervent strength and grabbed the fish once it was out of the water. She looked down at it and her face melted into disappointment... the fish was as small as her hand!
She stared at it and heard her father stifle his laughter beside her. He tried not to make eye contact with her as he could feel her annoyed glare burn through him.
"Throw it in the bucket and try again," he encouraged her, chuckling only through his first few words.
Once the both of them got into the groove they caught enough to make a dinner out of the fish to feed the entire family. The sun started to touch the horizon and they decided it was time to pack away their belongings. Byrhtnoth asked what Linyeve thought of the day and she responded,
"I can't wait to do this again, dad." Her smile was soft and genuine but she was clearly tired so Byrhtnoth took her hand in his once more and off they went trudging on home.
They were happy to see that Olyff had not started to cook dinner yet, even though the sun had fully set once they stepped inside the home. Olyff complimented their catch and Linyeve was delighted to be the one boasting about the fishing instead of her father. Olyff fueled her daughter's passion by helping her use her fish to cook a family meal: stew a la Chapman!
Linyeve absorbed every compliment and praise she got around the table and dreamt only about fish that night. She was a little disappointed that she couldn't go fishing every day with her father but their little local fishing trips became a monthly occurrence after that day.
Now that both Eddida and Teffan were old enough to walk with confidence Olyff was happy to accompany Pipa to the local market and support her with selling various baked goods that she learned to make in the last few years. One day Pipa met a local boy that was only half a year younger than her by the name of Frank. Olyff watched over her market table while she socialised and played with Frank and she grew excited to see him almost every time she sold her baked goods.
Olyff especially approved this friendship as the boy's father was the pastor from the Lughaven church, Father Bruceus. When she first met him at the market she greeted him and thanked him once again for his service at the funeral last year, adding that she never knew he had a son a similar age to Pipa. They had pleasant conversations while their children grew closer to each other and Olyff couldn't help but wonder if Frank would be a future suitor for her eldest daughter.
It was also funny to know that this year was the first time that the Chapman farm was vacant. Linyeve would often accompany her father on local fishing trips while Olyff carried her youngest daughters to the market to help Pipa and her marketing. With this arose the worry of their home not having a lock on their front door and so Byrhtnoth installed one with haste.
This year hosted a brilliantly warm summer, the warmest summer that had graced Praaven in some time. The Chapmans spent as much time under the sun as they could, warming their hardworking bones with the sun's blistering rays. The farm was coming along nicely and Olyff had a lot of work cut out for her this year and in those moments she was glad she wasn't expecting a child; she was as energetic as she ever had been.
It was under this bright sunlight that Byrhtnoth noticed his wife's hair feature a few grey streaks here and there. When he pointed it out to her she was surprised but wasn't too concerned,
"It has been a stressful time what with the losses we faced. At least I'm still youthful in face!" she joked and her husband agreed, giving her a little peck on her soft cheek.
With this summer heat came a few tall tales that the parents had to endure from their eldest daughters. Linyeve was becoming very well versed in fishing and she got permission to go fishing at the local pond only a thirty minute walk from their home.
One day she stayed out longer than she had expected and the summer sun began to set. As she packed her equipment a wild horse approaches the pond and bows its head for a drink of water. Linyeve noticed the steed and gasped, grabbing the horses attention as it looked in her direction. She was dumbfounded to see that the dark horse had a long protruding horn sticking out of its forehead! She didn't know what to do so she grabbed everything she could and scurried on home.
Before she could explain herself her mother gave her a right scolding for staying out so late, "You could have been kidnapped or worse, young lady!" Olyff shouted, her voice reverberating across the kitchen.
"I saw a unicorn mother!" pleaded Linyeve, hoping she would believe her. Olyff blinked a few times before placing her palm on her daughters forehead.
"You're burning up. I hope you didn't get a heatstroke from all the time you spent outside today."
"But mother, I'm telling you the truth!" whined Linyeve, motioning with her arms.
"Sit down for dinner and head straight to bed," commanded Olyff before getting busy with some chores before retreating to her own bed.
Linyeve successfully convinced her mother to let her visit the pond again after a week of pleading, this time obtaining a carrot to possibly feed this magical unicorn. She didn't meet the horse right as she reached her destination but in the middle of the day, as her rod was tightly gripped in her hands, the fantastical horse approached again. She gazed at it with bewilderment, it looked so different to her family horse at home... and this horn that it had was just like it was described in the fairytales her mother told her as she grew up.
She gently set the fishing rod down and took small steps towards the unicorn and it met her eyes once again. The way it looked at her was with pure intelligence like any other and even when it shook it's head there were sparkles that rained from its mane. Linyeve got close enough to be able to reach into a pocket and fish out her stolen carrot, offering it up to the horse's mouth.
It accepted it with pleasure and nibbled it, tickling Linyeve's hand. As fantastical as it was it was extremely gentle with her and she didn't know how she would be able to prove this sighting to her mother. The unicorn stayed with her that day and watched her fish and before she packed to head home the unicorn raised its head and horn and conjured a fabulous rainbow that hung over the pond.
No matter how much Linyeve tried to explain this story not one person in the Chapman family believed her. She thought that maybe little Teffan would believe but she decided to copy her mother's reaction and shook her head. Linyeve was frustrated with how she wasn't being listened to and began to act out more often because of it.
But this wasn't all for Olyff as one evening when Pipa returned from the market one weekend she told her a story about how she met the king. Olyff was unable to accompany her on a trip to the market one week and now her eldest daughter is telling fibs too?
Pipa described how the King and Queen of Praaven perused the Tovar village market and that the pair bought some of her homemade biscuits as she jumped for joy. She even described how the King remembered her from the town market last year and asked her to send his regards to her father. Olyff remained skeptical, even with the last comment that Pipa made, and she wanted to believe what her daughters were saying but she felt in her heart that this was just a phase of make-believe for the two of them.
Once the harvest season arrived Byrhtnoth spent a little more time at home and helped his wife with any remaining chores she couldn't finish up. She spent this season growing their crops to perfection and collecting their bountiful yield in increments. With this brilliant harvest her husband made sure to ride into Praaven keep and deliver their finest vegetables to the King as promised.
It was at this visit that the King asked Byrhtnoth, "Did your daughter pass on my regards to you?" to which he positively responded with a stutter. Perhaps one of the stories that their daughters told was true... or were both of them the honest truth?
As the weather slowly grew colder Linyeve was helping out more on the farm and at home rather than fishing like she did during summer. She still tried her very best to convince everyone that she had seen a unicorn and constantly harped on about it to her father. He listened gently and with care but never denied her story, even if deep down he was just as skeptical of it as Olyff was.
And once again the farm went dormant and the windows of the bungalow were boarded up once more. But it wasn't all gloomy and boring inside the Chapman home as Eddida was just about to turn five years old! It felt like they had just celebrated a massive milestone but it's because Linyeve and Eddida were born in the same year.
Linyeve contributed to the cake making process along with Pipa and even Teffan, helping with licking the wooden spoon! The cake was baked and aptly decorated and the family gathered with lovely Eddida to have her blow out her birthday candles.
Olyff held her up to reach the cake on the counter and everyone cheered as the candle flames turned to smoke. Everyone gave her a big hug and congratulated her on turning five years old and Olyff shared a slice of honey cake with everyone. All of their children were old enough to comfortably sit at the table now and the parents felt comforted by the scene, even if they lost some children over the years.
As their tradition went, Olyff gifted her daughter a new dress which looked quite similar to the one she wore herself. She made sure that the corset she wore was made from wolfskin as it was bitter cold out and she wanted her to stay extra warm. She tried it on and it was a perfect fit!
Byrhtnoth opened up about sneaking off to his parent's bungalow in the last few months to collaborate with his father in building an easel for Eddida as he noticed how much she liked to draw in the dirt and dust in the farm. Olyff piped in and explained how she would help her make paint with berries and flowers and that she could paint to her hearts content.
They set up the easel in the shared living space near the fireplace and let Eddida have a go at painting on a thin sheet of scrap wood. She took her brush and the small selection of paint her parents had mixed up and let her imagination run wild on the canvas.
Her parents stood behind her and watched with interest and pride. Byrhtnoth took his wife's hand and gave it a kiss and she smiled back at him warmly before she put her head on his shoulder. And as this moment was experienced the first snow of the winter began to fall outside their window.
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