1316 - The First Casualties
CW: Famine, hunger, illness, death throughout the entire chapter.
The Chapmans began to feel the winter cold right to their bones. Although they all gathered around the two fireplaces they have in their home no roaring fire could warm them deep down enough as their bellies grew hungrier than ever. The fires weren't as large as they could have been either as the never ending rainstorms stopped the felled wood from drying properly. Things were growing increasingly bleak across Praaven.
Rumours spread of all sorts of wrongdoings that could have caused a famine like this to sweep across the lands of England. Some priests blamed the followers of The Watcher for their sins, other scholars tried to blame the moon and stars while peasants believed the King of England was to blame for not aiding them in their hunger. One thing that was certain was that nature was in an unusual phase with the constant downpours and full moons that looked like they could swallow the sky.
In the earlier days of the year, when there would be only a light drizzle outside, Byrhtnoth decided to ditch the fishing and try his hand in foraging. Most of the soil across Praaven had turned marshy but he tried his best to find various roots and wild plants that he had heard were edible and even came across a group of villagers who were trying to harvest cambium from birch trees, an apparently edible layer of bark but short in supply.
While he had the energy he also tried his hand in trading certain items they had in storage for food at the Praaven keep markets but to no avail. Many merchants were only accepting coin and demanded a lot of it, much more than the Chapmans ever owned before. He resorted to bringing his foraged foods back and giving his family a meal that would sustain them for the next week or so.
It was on this journey home that he galloped through Lughaven village and noticed a small group of people standing outside of a certain bungalow with Father Bruceus in their company. As he slowed Beauty down to know what was happening his heart sank as he realised it was his parent's home. He dismounted his horse and approached Father who informed him of his parent's passing.
Byrhtnoth's mother and father had already grown old but with the lack of food and energy their bodies seemed to have fallen ill easier than ever and from the short inspection that the townspeople did they concluded that the pair suffered pneumonia that inevitably ended their lives. Byrhtnoth knew that their time was coming to a close soon but he felt guilty for not spending more time with them recently; the worries for his family and the gnawing hunger in his stomach overpowered any care he had for his parents. He made a short arrangement to bury his parents at the Lughaven church with Father Bruceus and on he went back home.
As he was taking off the saddle from Beauty when he arrived to the farm Olyff began walking up the hill from the shed and basins, seeming to have finished doing the laundry. He told her the grim news and she gave him a tight hug, sharing her deep empathy for his situation as her parents also passed from an illness over fifteen years ago now. They made sure to say a prayer in memory of them over their dinner of watery dandelion root soup.
Regardless of the constant news of another family having to bury a loved one the Chapmans made ends meet. For Byrhtnoth it was his biggest priority to keep his youngest children and his wife fed and he attempted to eat the least out of everyone. And with his sacrifice Osuald and Lavina were growing to be strong little tots as they indulged in various seed porridges, seeds that were kept in urns as a reserve for when the weather would stabilise.
Eddida began to have a string of colds and flus ail her, seeming to have a runny nose and a sore throat every few weeks. They all understood that her growing body's immune system had been shot with this sudden starvation so they told her to wrap up, stay warm at home and rest as much as she could. She was still an immensely helpful daughter and watched after Osuald and Lavina when the parents tried their best to find another source of food for the family.
The parents began to wonder why they heard less and less from Pipa as the winter months dragged on before they finally got news of her whereabouts. When Byrhtnoth met with Father Bruceus at the Lughaven cemetery to have a quick burial for his parents they were alerted that Dominique, Pipa's only child, had passed away. He was shocked by the news and asked what could have happened to which the Father responded,
"We have no concrete answer. It's been a cold winter and it is no lie that the less food Pipa eats the less her breastmilk would nourish her child. I believe The Watcher spared Dominique from a hungry suffering and whisked her away from us while she slept."
Her parents respected her way of mourning and hoped that she would come by their place soon again.
Once they were halfway through spring they got word from one of the Prince's men that they could journey over soon to have their annual meet with their daughter Linyeve. It had almost been a full six months since she had moved in to the Praaven castle and as the Chapmans didn't know how to read or write there was no other way of staying in contact with their daughter.
Just before they settled on a date for their travel they got word that Pipa was with child again; an unplanned pregnancy but they were confident to bring another baby into the Bruceus household. There was no other choice anyhow, but this would make for great news to share with Linyeve.
Byrhtnoth and Olyff decided that they were to visit Linyeve alone and Eddida agreed to watch over her two younger siblings while they were away for a few hours. The parents saddled Beauty and Greyson and prepared for the hour long gallop to the keep.
The ground they trampled over was wet and mucky but this didn't matter to them one bit for they were to see their daughter once again. It was painful for them to not be able to celebrate her thirteenth birthday at home so they prepared a small gift of clean nightgowns and other things that would remind her of home in a neatly wrapped parcel.
Once they arrived one of the soldiers that was stationed outside of the castle made his way up the stairs to alert the royals of their visitors. As soon as the parents tied their horses to the stable post they heard a loud "Mother! Father!" boom through the castle's doors and out came running Linyeve down the steps.
The family were all smiles as she ran into her parent's arms. They stood in a short embrace before pulling away and admiring each other under the sun, a rare sight those days. Olyff was delighted to see that Linyeve had more colour in her cheeks than before she moved into the castle last year; it seemed that the royals were feeding her perfectly well.
"I don't eat alongside the Queen Dowager and the Prince," admitted Linyeve to her parents, "but I've made close acquaintances with the other servants and workers in the castle! It's been interesting to hear the gossip and learn how royalty live behind closed doors."
They were delighted to see that Linyeve was being sheltered from the grim realities of the famine outside of the keep and they hoped it would stay that way, that they would not whisk her away from here for any tragedies that could befall their family. Nonetheless they adamantly listened to their daughter's stories and eventually Byrhtnoth excused himself to deliver his quarterly package to Prince Sidgurd.
They met at the stables as the Prince had just recently returned from a short trip around the villages that were situated close to the walls and Byrhtnoth could clearly see there was a hint of worry behind the royal's friendly smile. He attempted to excuse his parcel's size but was met with sympathy once more,
"The situation is dire," said Prince Sidgurd with a stern look. "I had just returned from a quick visit to Mahlsberg and it saddens me to be aware of the casualties from this famine. I wish there was more that I could do for the people of Praaven but I am more than grateful to your family, and many others, for keeping us fed." The Prince took Byrhtnoth's hand in his before he said his next statement,
"I do not wish to have you become thin and frail and risk your life like many of the other citizens have. Please, keep the produce you harvest over summer, don't deliver it to our castle. We shall see you again in autumn, take care."
Byrhtnoth had no way of responding properly to this gesture of kindness. He wanted himself and his family to have a relatively easy life and to avoid any tragedies during this unavoidable famine that swept the nation but he understood that his life was not as valuable as his liege's.
Prince Sidgurd's eyes, however, expressed genuine concern, what he had seen that day was nothing he had ever imagined before and he clearly didn't want that to befall his ally. Byrhtnoth bowed generously in response and the Prince exhaled a sigh of relief. They met eyes once again and Prince Sidgurd ushered him to join his daughter in their short meet.
In the meantime Olyff and Linyeve had entered the castle and spent a moment in the small garden in the centre of the building. Four wooden arches adorned with climbing, white flowers stood in a square formation around a stone grey fountain and the sun shone down at them as it peeked from quickly drifting clouds. The grass at this garden was also soaked and muddy, as was all of Praaven, but it was visible that whoever designed this luxury space planned the drainage well.
"Eddida talks about you every day," admitted Olyff to her daughter. "You girls are like twins, you share the same birth year and have remained the same age for most of your life. It's been hard for her to not have a peer to speak to, even if you two had your moments."
"Tell her I miss her also," replied Linyeve with a lightly grief-stricken brow; her heart longed to see her loving sister again. "As much as my time here has been pleasant and calm I really do miss the farm... how are the little ones doing?"
"They're growing up just fine," smiled Olyff softly before sighing deeply. "Your father is a saint among men, he has been reducing his portions so they could eat and not experience any hunger. They still occasionally complain of a tummy grumble but that's just the way life is right now."
They stood in silence as they pondered on the land's situation before Olyff interrupted again, "oh, c'mere you!" and pulled her in for a tight hug. She wanted to indulge in Linyeve's sweet scent for as long as she could before they had to travel back home and back to reality. And speaking of which, as they pulled away a grey cloud finally darkened the sun above and broke out into rain. Linyeve invited her mother inside and they found themselves in the dining hall where Byrhtnoth and Prince Sidgurd had just come upstairs.
Linyeve began smiling from ear to ear as she saw her father and shared another hug with him. Prince Sidgurd excused himself as he needed to wash up after his journey and they all curtseyed to him as a farewell. Linyeve began asking her father about his fishing,
"Have you been able to catch anything exciting recently, father?" Byrhtnoth coughed and tugged on his collar in discomfort,
"Not exactly, no. Most of the rivers we used to fish at have flooded over and fish have become a delicacy in recent days."
"Oh, is that so?" Linyeve's face dropped as her voice trailed off. "I didn't know things were that bad outside the keep."
"Y-yes, my dear... things are tough." Neither of them knew what to say next, Linyeve grew more worried for her family with this knowledge. "We make ends meet, we'll be just fine," he said with a weary smile. Linyeve found it hard to believe but she knew she just had to believe him.
"I'll pray to The Watcher for you all," said Linyeve sincerely. "They have a small chapel in the castle specifically for the workers here... would you like to see?"
She began a small tour of the rooms she knew she wouldn't get a scolding for taking them to and they continued to share news and stories of all kinds. They found themselves at a sunset and decided it was time to bid farewell.
Linyeve led her parents to the stables once again and stood and watched as they mounted their steeds in the rain. She gave the family horses a pat on their noses as they remembered her scent before she waved goodbye to Byrhtnoth and Olyff who raced out of the town walls and back to the countryside.
Back home Eddida had been managing just fine, keeping Osuald entertained and happy and also giving Lavina a little scrub in the basin. The two youngest children had been put to bed by the time her parent's showed their faces back in the cottage and they relayed all of their news on Linyeve's wherabouts to Eddida who smiled through every piece of information they fed her.
As the summer months crawled in the rain never ceased to stop. The weather was a tad bit warmer than before but their time was mostly spent indoors. Eddida seemed to be on the mend and recovered from her string of illnesses as she began painting more often on her easel and helping her mother with any chores while she minded her siblings.
When Byrhtnoth wasn't finding new sources of food for the family he was getting close with his daughter who had just passed her first birthday. She also inherited his fair hair and they kept it cut short into a cute little bob, tucking a few strands behind her ear which she learned to do herself relatively quickly.
The two Chapman toddlers had become old enough to be moved to a larger crib; they needed their own room so Eddida took Pipa's bed that stood in the upstairs room on the farther side of the home. Her siblings shared her old room after they removed her bed from there. She also got help from her father to bring her easel upstairs to give her some privacy from the hustle and bustle that her brother and sister created.
With no delivery to make to the castle this quarter Byrhtnoth felt calm with the knowledge that his family was going to be less hungry than they had been during the spring. He heard of some local fishermen scoring a good catch at the lake in the mountains and so he packed his bags and made his journey there.
Just before he made it to the lake he got a gorgeous view of Praaven before him, spanning across almost all of the villages closest to the keep. His home looked so incredibly small from a distance, so small that if his wife went outside he wouldn't even see a speck of her. He spent two full days at the body of water and caught just enough to last them a full month if they successfully preserved the fish.
Olyff was incredibly proud of her husband's feat and they shared a full meal for the first time that year. She poured a large portion of fish stew for everyone in the family but from their small diets the last few months neither of them could finish their meal fully. Gluttony may have been a sin told by the pastors of The Watcher but they still took a few extra bites than their stomachs could handle as their meal felt like a rare delicacy.
For the first time in a long time she felt warm from her core. She snuggled up to her husband the night he returned from that trip and looked up at him with undying love. She analysed every wrinkle that scarred his face and thought back on everything that she had gone through with him so far, from an arranged marriage to giving birth to their nine children, to losing half of her children to all sorts of tragedies and now a famine. She was worried in the past that she wouldn't love her husband this much in an arranged marriage but she was grateful that her parents chose well, even when they were at their most ill.
Life continued on and the Chapmans quickly grew hungrier again, as was the nature of a famine. The downpours grew in intensity and it was soon time to deliver another batch of produce to the Prince and his family. They were left with scraps, eventually moving from their last reserves of fish back to seed porridge and dandelion root soup. Before they knew it watery gruel was also back on the menu when foraging was unsuccessful.
The parents continued to try and feed their youngest well, always giving them the largest portion of porridge or soup and have their cheeks stay nice and rosy. Osuald was now two years old and becoming more energetic than ever, running around the home as he pleased. Olyff found it difficult to keep an eye on him alongside Lavina as she was getting more and more increasingly tired from the lack of food.
She had to force a slightly unnatural shift from breastmilk for her youngest to porridges as she just wouldn't produce any more milk and she endured endless headaches as a result. Olyff powered through nonetheless and her children are what really kept her drive going.
When Olyff's headaches were too much Eddida stepped in to mind at least one of her siblings. She herself wasn't doing too well but they all knew it could be worse. Leading into the winter months she found herself catching colds easier once again and before she knew it new ailments seemed to bother her. One week she complained of some stomach issues and spent most of her days in her room, coming down only to wash up and clean her chamber pot. It was Byrhtnoth that came up with the assumption that Eddida suffered from dysentery.
Byrhtnoth spent most of his days tending to the three horses they owned and pitifully watch them grow skinnier also. They were left with no more hay yet he tried to let them have a wander around the farm and try eat any grass that hadn't gone too soggy from the rain.
One time he even considered selling a horse for coin, in hopes of possibly getting enough money to buy some food for the winter, but with the constant talk of produce prices skyrocketing, and his love for horses outweighing his greed, he refused to do such thing.
As the last few days of November began the skies remained a dark grey. The rooms inside the Chapman home felt eerily dark and the family members tried to stay as close to their torches and fires to see one another well. Eddida seemed to be fairing the weakest out of everyone in the home and her parents instructed her to rest as much as she can and give her larger meals to prevent her from succumbing to hunger.
She came down one afternoon to the fire in the living area and held her shaking hands above the fire place. Her mother had been giving little Osuald a bath near the fire and asked how Eddida was feeling to which she responded,
"I'm so cold, mother. I feel like I can't even feel the fire's warmth near my fingertips anymore." Olyff looked up from the bath and her eyes widened with worry before she stuttered,
"M-maybe, um... maybe you need a warm bath, I can get one prepared for you after Osuald is done?"
"I think I'll be okay," weakly responded Eddida, rubbing her boney fingers together before hanging them over the fire once more. "I'm just going to wear a few more layers to warm myself up."
Olyff lifted Osuald from the bath who was looking around inquisitively at the pair before he watched Eddida slowly make it back up the ladder to her room. They both saw her head peer over the banister upstairs and wrap a few more layers underneath her blue dress before spending some time painting at her easel.
That evening she grew delirious. She told her parents that she was attempting to paint the night sky from last night but when they took a look at her work all they saw was a thick layer of charcoal slathered onto a board. No stars or moon were present in her imaginative sky and when they spoke to her her eyes fluttered as if she tried her best to keep herself awake.
She was still coughing from an illness but now proceeded to be getting sick from an ailment too. Her father tended to her bedside after minding the horses and began to spoonfeed her in bed. She grew so thin that he had never seen a human so frail but continued to help her up and out of her bed. Eddida knew she looked ill and requested for her youngest siblings to not see her in this state.
Eventually Eddida's body couldn't fight any longer. Byrhtnoth had just fed her a watery gruel, as that was all they had left that week, and she requested to take a nap,
"I can't help but feel so sleepy recently," she slurred to her father.
"Don't you worry, you just need to rest up is all," he tucked her into her bedding and left her to dream. But to his misfortune when he checked back on her merely an hour later she didn't stir in her slumber. As he got closer he felt no breath come from her and her skin had become as cold as the crisp air blowing through her window.
He sat next to her in absolute shock. She lay there, calm and peaceful, a gentle smile curling her lips and he hoped that her last thought was a pleasant one. Her hair fell against her shut eyes and he stroked it out of them, to no reaction. He feared how he would tell his wife, the mother to their fallen child. Would this break her? Would Eddida's death make her ill also?
There was nothing he could do but bite his tongue and report the news. He met his wife having a bath, attempting to warm her hungry bones, and in her vulnerable state told her, "Eddida... she... she's not breathing."
Olyff stopped scrubbing her skinny arms and sank into the steamy bath. Her eyes unfocused and she heaved a shaky sigh, "I had a feeling this would happen..." Her chin quivered as her husband brought her a towel and once he bundled her up she cried into his shoulder. The famine had finally come for their family and Eddida had been the victim...
Gnawing hunger outweighed the deep grief that Olyff felt that week as she made the arrangements for her daughter's funeral. Surprisingly the cost to bury a family member was much cheaper than a loaf of bread nowadays and when she relayed the news to Father Bruceus he gave her a discount out of pity.
As she had to meet with the Father of the local Lughaven church Olyff came in contact with her daughter Pipa, as she lived at the Bruceus homestead. She didn't know how the best way to break the news to her heavily pregnant child but she did her best to let her know that the famine hadn't been kind to their family and that more information was to follow. Olyff prayed that Pipa would have given birth by the time the funeral took place as she was due any day now.
The parents agreed that Linyeve deserved to be at this funeral, if the Prince allowed it so. Byrhtnoth took Beauty out on a ride to the keep, going at a slower pace as the hunger began to get to the horses now also, but an hour and a half later he tied his horse at the stable post once again. He arrived earlier than he ever had before and when he was invited inside there were far more servants running around doing their morning chores than ever before.
He was brought down to the darkened castle stables where he would meet face to face with Prince Sidgurd. As the royal approached the peasant he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, clearly wiping away the remnants of his breakfast porridge before asking,
"What's with this unusually early meeting, Byrhtnoth?"
He fiddled with his coat's fabric, unsure how to not say his piece of news bluntly. "Eddida has passed on. The famine took my child away."
His voice echoed in the empty stable, a nearby horse huffed to the reverberation and Byrhtnoth coughed out a cry. The lump of sorrow in his throat activated a flood of tears that he didn't realise he was holding in and the Prince rushed to comfort his friend. Byrhtnoth feared to hug the wealthy man but was pulled into an embrace and collapsed emotionally. The Prince pat his back and said his many sorries as Byrhtnoth tried his best to calm himself before pulling away and wiping any moisture from his face.
"The funeral," he sniffled, "the funeral is set to be a week from now. Please let Linyeve say goodbye to her sister."
"Of course," answered the Prince with generosity, "I would be a monster to not let her attend Eddida's funeral. You have my word that she will be delivered there on horseback with me by her side." Byrhtnoth showed a weak smile as he took a deep breath to steady his breathing. Prince Sidgurd spoke up once more,
"Linyeve is in the kitchen cleaning at the moment. You should go and tell her the news yourself, I'll make sure the kitchen will be empty when you arrive."
The Prince walked off and left Byrhtnoth to gather his thoughts and dry his reddened eyes. Time seemed to rush by as he was ushered to come to the kitchen in a flash. Warm smells of seasoned veggies and oaty porridge filled his nostrils and his stomach made an audible growl which alerted Linyeve to turn around and abandon her duties. She rushed to her father, wearing a worried face due to his appearance as she bitterly said,
"What happened at home"?
"It's Eddida," her father sighed with remorse, Linyeve clasped her chest. "Eddida has passed on."
"By The Watcher," she exhaled, lips pursing into a grimace. "This cannot be."
"I'm afraid it is, my love. I'm afraid it is..." They both hung their heads low and Linyeve fought back her tears with a quivering lip, biting at it when it grew too shaky. As hurt as her father was with the loss he knew he had to comfort his daughter and spoke up as he put his hands on her arms,
"Look at me, Linyeve. Don't feel at fault in the slightest. I'm not sure if you feel that way but I will say it before the feeling arises. Famines always cull the weak and to our misfortune Eddida was one of those weak. The hunger was too much for her, she grew more and more ill every day until there was only a husk of her former self left. Keep the comforting and warm thoughts of the Eddida you knew and loved deep in your heart, that is the side of her that we all should remember."
She attempted a smile but the rest of her face told another story. She took a sleeve and wiped away her bubbling tears and tried to breathe away her sorrow through tight lips. She looked up at her father wanting to know what to do next.
"The funeral will be a week from today," he continued. "She will be laid to rest beside the rest of your fallen siblings and I have already arranged it with Prince Sidgurd that he will deliver you by horse to the Lughaven church."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," shakily said Linyeve. As she said this the Prince appeared in the room and invited Byrhtnoth for a meal upstairs. He attempted to politely decline but the royal insisted, arguing that he had a long journey home and he should be full of energy to endure it. Linyeve pushed her father to take a step closer to the dining hall and so he went to eat. He waved his daughter goodbye and hoped to see her at the funeral very soon.
Prince Sidgurd told his ally that he noticed how much he enjoyed the grilled vegetables they shared together that one time and requested them to be made once again. Byrhtnoth hoovered it all down, throwing any thoughts of etiquette out of his mind, and filled himself up as quickly as he could to be less of a possibly unwanted presence in the castle. He thanked everyone in the hall and made his journey home.
Eddida's body was delivered to the Lughaven church the next day and the Chapmans passed her onto the church with sorrow. Her frail and lifeless body was tragic to bring down to the wagon with the other corpses that had fallen from the famine and they wrapped her up neatly so her pale skin wouldn't touch any of the other villager's. Her room became dormant, the painting of the darkened night sky dried until it grew cracks and the charcoal began to crumble off. The parents didn't dare step foot in that room until the burial service was over.
The rain became an insane downpour over winter. The funeral was pushed back several days as the gravediggers alerted them the soil was far too moistened to be dug up correctly. They prayed for a single day of sunshine, or at least light rain, so they could give another daughter an honest and holy burial. Eventually the day finally came...
The Watcher's Observation:
In the second year of the famine Praaven had lost 23 sims from the total population of 140, making the percentage of people dying to the famine 16.4% this year, and a total of 22.1% overall.
This year the Chapmans lost baby Dominique as she failed to thrive and also their lovely Eddida to thirst, attributed to her dysentery which made her dehydrated. There is one more year left in the famine... who might possibly perish next?
There are no bonus stories to wrap up the chapter this time around but you'll be happy to know that Osuald and Lavina are doing just fine this year. Here's an insanely cute photo of Lavina to soothe your heart before we go into 1317~
No comments:
Post a Comment