Blood Night I

"Alice, please be careful. There have been words about bandit attacks lately..." A woman said to her eldest daughter with a worried face.

"You don't have to worry about me, I know my way around here." The daughter said with confidence as her red hair danced with the winds and her golden eyes glimmered under the sunlight.

"Sister, please return early. Okay?" Her younger brother asked with pleading eyes. She bent down and patted him on the head.

"Don't worry, I will be back early to play with you!" She said with a charming smile.

"Do you remember where to deliver the milk?" Her mother asked with a worried face.

"The tavern gets seven, the inn gets three and the shop gets the rest," Alice replied putting her hands on her waist. a proud grin on her face.

"You got it wrong again, seven for the inn and three for the tavern." Her mother sighed, her daughter has been known to have a bad memory. She can recall people's faces but rarely bother to remember their names, she only keeps her family in mind.

Alice started laughing, "Well, they know what they need so I don't have to remember that well." She then stopped and looked toward the village stables in the distance.

"If we keep this for a month we will be able to buy a mule or a donkey, with that I won't need to drag this carriage anymore. The job will get easier and we can start selling more!" she dreamed about the near future.

Her mother smiled, "Well, you are getting married next year so you won't be dragging it either way."

Hearing her mother's words Alice bore a happy smile on her face, "I will be going then!" Alice shouted in excitement as she dragged the carriage away.

On her way to the village, Alice was daydreaming about her future. 'The blacksmith son, what his name again? He had a nice build and is quite serious about his work. The inn's lady son is good as well, his face is something else! Oh, how about that farm boy, they have the biggest field in the village so he must be quite rich.' She kept counting her potential husbands, all of them seemed nice and she couldn't wait for next year to come.

'Why we gotta marry at 20? I want to get married right now." She scorned the fact she was 19 years old and had to wait another year.

Before she could realize it, she was already standing in front of the inn, it was the way she trod for years that she started zoning on it.

Cracking her neck and stretching her back, she took quick steps toward the inn's door and knocked lightly. "It's me, I brought you milk!" She yelled.

After a few moments, she could hear the footstep of someone approaching the door. "Hurry up, I don't have all day!" She yelled at them.

"I'm coming, don't you have any patience?" The old man replied to her from the inside as he slowly opened the door.

"Three churns of milk for you, right?" She said with a confident smile.

The old man stared at her exhausted, "It's seven, how can you still miss the same number you worked with for over a year? Or are you by any chance making fun of me?"

"Sorry, sorry. I was joking, it's seven churns." She replied with a wry smile, she did forget her mother corrected her back home.

"Fine, I don't mind. Here is your payment." He handed her 4 silver coins and 30 copper coins.

She looked at the amount for a moment before lifting an eyebrow.

"Aren't you wrong? A single churn is 60 copper coins and I handed you seven, the total would be 4 silver coins and 20 copper coins. You handed me an extra 10 copper coins." She showed him the money.

He looked at them again and then looked at her face, "You can be smart at times," He looked surprised, "I already gave it to you so you can have it, as a thank you for telling me." The old man smiled.

Alice then helped him take the churns inside, they were a bit heavy but she had gotten used to the work and she didn't feel like leaving him to carry them alone after he gave her some extra money.

As they finished, Alice approached the inn owner to ask him something, "By the way, where is he..." She whispered to not be heard by anyone else.

"You mean Jack? At least remember his name will you?" The inn owner giggled as he heard her ask about his son. "I do remember his name, I was just trying to be quiet." She replied with a pouting face.

"With his mother, he should be helping her move the flour sacks." The inn owner replied.

"I believe I told you to give up last time!" A young man's voice came from inside the house and Alice flinched.

Alice looked inside and it was Jack "I don't remember you saying that!" She lied as she remembers him rejecting her last week.

"You never learn, do you? I have to admit that in the look you best every girl in the village by a landslide, but...I'm looking for a woman that can cook and help direct the inn!" Jack said to her with a strong voice.

"There is still a year and I can learn to cook!" She exclaimed back at him, showing faint signs of anger.

Jack facepalmed and sighed, "I also told you last time that I will gladly marry you if you learned to cook, have you forgotten even that?" Jack couldn't be more disappointed.

Last year on the 18-year celebration, he had declared that he was looking for a wife that can cook while Alice wanted a husband that is willing to help her take care of her family. All the other youth of the village did the same.

Alice started sweating. She did forget that. 'He did say it last...' She thought for a moment about what she wanted to say.

"I...I was learning!" That was the best response she could come up with.

Jack smiled at her, "That's a good thing. But I can't promise you anything until you have LEARNED."

Alice felt a bit happy, even though she was still a failure at cooking. "Mom is a good cooker if you want her to teach you, come here from time to time and you might learn a thing or two," Jack added a suggestion.

"I will be taking you up on that offer then, I will show you what skill I have," Alice said proudly.

After making her move, Alice took her carriage and headed toward the tavern to deliver the milk. She had given seven churns to the inn, so she was repeating the number 3 in her head so she won't forget.

She had wasted some time bickering with Jack so she had to hurry a bit. She wasn't as excited to go there as the tavern was filled with nothing but drunkards and the owner only had two daughters.

Knock! Knock! She got to the backdoor.

"Easy, Easy! You will tear the door down!" The harsh voice of a man boomed inside the tavern. The moment he opened the door the stench of alcohol gushed out.

Alice unconsciously closed her nose, "I brought the milk." She said with a tense face.

The man looked toward the carriage and then toward Alice's face, he then rubbed his eyes. "Just give me a moment." He said walking inside toward a bucket of water, he splashed some on his face and poured the rest on his head.

"This is better, I sobered up a bit." He smiled as he returned to face her.

"You have three churns right? You have to carry them inside on your own though, I hate the stench of alcohol." Alice said to him as he walked toward the carriage.

"Fair enough, the payment is..." He said trying to calculate the price for the three churns.

"1 silver coin and 80 copper coins, you don't have to count while being half drunk!" Alice cut him off.

"I would call myself half sober thought..." He gave her a sad look for a moment before putting his hand into his pocket.

"I don't have that much copper coins change and I don't spend it all here...here have 2 silvers!" he handed her a whole to silver coins.

Alice went inside her pocket and to the thirty copper coins, she got from the inn. "Here I have some change." She tried to count 20 copper coins to give them back to him.

"Ah...no need for that, just keep the rest." He stopped her from counting.

"But..." She said.

"Take it, I don't mind. Your father has been a great friend of mine and I don't intend on cheapening on him."

"What could I say, thank you..." After thanking him and leaving the milk at the door, Alice headed toward the general store where she was to drop the rest.

The store was located on the other side of the village and it was almost noon so she decided to get back to the inn for dinner, she might as well help Jack's mother cook and learn a thing or two from her.

When she knocked on the door, It was jack who opened the door. "Why did you come back?" He asked her with a tired face.

"I wanted to learn how to cook while I'm here!" She said to him with an annoyed face.

"I thought you won't come today, fine come inside!" Jack let her inside while he dragged her carriage to the warehouse, leaving her milk in the sun was a bad thing and he couldn't believe she forget that.

As he came inside Alice was already in the kitchen with his mother, he stole a glance at them and then went downstairs for work.

After a while, Jack's mother called him. "Jack, come eat your dinner!"

When he walked into the kitchen, "You two have lunch now, me and your father will eat later!" His mother said leaving him alone with Alice to eat.

He then looked at the table, it has more dishes than usual, some of them had to be made by Alice. "You cooked some?" He asked her.

"Of course I did, didn't I say I was learning to cook?" Alice replied to him as she sat beside the table. He gently dragged his chair and sat down with her. "Well then thank you for cooking."

Alice kept staring at them nervously as he was eating, nothing concerned her more than what he thought of her cooking. She started to feel hope as he was eating silently without saying that any of the food tasted bad.

To make sure he had his fill from her cooking she didn't eat anything from it, she only ate from what his mother made.

After they finished she decided to ask him how it was, expecting some praise. "How did it taste?"

Jack looked at her as if saying, 'What did you just say?' He then pointed toward several plates, "Those were made by mother, the rest are your creation." He said.

Hearing him say creation instead of cooking alarmed her that something was off. "Listen, I will eat your cooking no matter how awful it tasted but that's a different story for the customers downstairs."

"Are you saying that it was bad?" She was about to snap at him. She couldn't believe her cooking was that bad especially after seeing him eat everything.

"I won't say anything, there is still some there so taste it on your own!" He pointed at his parent's share, "Don't mind them and just give it a try!" He urged her to get a taste.

Alice walked slowly toward the counter and took a spoonful of soup. It was salty as hell. the fried greens she made tasted a bit sour and her bread reeked of yeast. She could barely down those few bites while he had eaten everything she served him.

"Sorry..." She apologized realizing that her cooking was almost inedible.

"Well I don't have a problem but take what was left from my parent's plate, my mother might put up with it but my father would surely be angry because you wasted all that salt on the soup." Salt was expensive and for her to get the soup as salty as it is she must have wasted quite a bit.

Alice started taking her cooking from his parent's plate, he also helped her clean and get rid of the salty soup.

After cleaning everything she picked her carriage up and headed toward the general shop to deliver the rest of the milk.

"I brought you the milk you requested," Alice called from the front door. An old lady slowly walked toward her and smiled.

"How much is left for me today, I see four churns..." The old lady slowly said, standing on her toes to take a look inside the carriage.

"Three and a half to be exact, I don't know what made our cows push that extra half churn today...no yesterday." Alice laughed as she carried the churns down for the old lady to inspect.

"If there wasn't anything weird in their food they must have had a quiet day, a relaxed can produce more milk." The old lady tried to move the half-filled churn but wasn't able to, her frail body was barely able to keep her standing with a bent back and a cane.

"Stop, stop!" Alice almost snapped at her, "I will carry those, what if you hurt your back!" Alice then swiftly carried all the churns inside the shop.

"Here's your payment, a little extra for your help." The old lady gave Alice 2 silver coins and 20 copper coins.

"You don't have to, it's a part of my job..." Alice protested at the extra 10 copper coins she was given. "No, just take them!" The old lady closed Alice's hands on the money.

Alice smiled and then a thought came to her mind, the rope on the well was getting old, it's better to replace it with a new one.

"Can I take a look at your stock? I would like to buy a rope for the well." Alice said as she looked inside the shop.

"We have them, please have a look."

The old lady went inside and pulled a dusty box filled with ropes, "How long do you need it?" She asked.

"About four meters, our well isn't that deep," Alice said, the old lady skimmed in the box and then handed her one of the pre-cut ropes. "This should be four meters."

Alice looked at the rope suspiciously, she then weaved it like a whip causing it to straighten up. The rope's tip extended from the door and Alice stared back at the old lady.

"This is five meters, do you have a way to cut it?"

The old lady frowned, "Take it as it is, I don't want to go through the trouble of cutting it. I'm giving it to you at a discount."

Even though she wanted to complain, Alice just accepted the rope with a smile. "Thank you."

After finishing her job, Alice went back to the inn to rest and learn a thing or two from Jack's mother. She had to wait a bit longer to get her churns back before returning home after all. After a few hours of learning how to bake bread, Alice finally got the churns back from the inn.

After getting them she passed by the tavern and the shop again collecting the rest, it was almost sunset by that time and she was running late.

"I have to return, I promised to be home early. I should have told them to give me the churns quickly..." She mumbled as she dragged the carriage up the hill.

After a few minutes, she reached their farm. The cows were unusually silent. They usually mooed the moment they saw her. "Are you thirsty? Just let me drop this back home and I will bring you something to drink." Alice said to them as she patted the first cow.

She pared the carriage in the shed and transported the churns to the washing side, even though this was her daily routine, she was getting anxious that her little brother did come out to greet her. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest and her veins pulse.

Unable to shake that horrible feeling, she decided to check on her mother and brother first before washing the churns.

She rushed with quickened footsteps, she never thought she would be this emotionally hurt if her little brother didn't come to greet her. Was he mad she was late?

As she reached the door, she happily opened the door.

"Mother, I came back..."

A man drenched in blood stared back at her as he stood over her dead mother and brother.

"Your majesty?" The man mumbled with blood dripping from his mouth.