And She Schemes

For the longest time, Dagena had laid idly by doing absolutely nothing. Quite far away from home, no longer in the company of her ladies nor her maids and certainly not in the company of the one she thought her man.

Dagena had come to realize how much time she'd idled away when the innkeeper came knocking.

"Yes? Who is it?" she asked, sitting up on the side of the bed.

"Tis Lachlan, the innkeeper, ye haven't come outside since yer boy left."

Dagena said nothing at first, feeling a bit reserved about having the innkeeper around her without the Seinerd nor the driver around as well, whether or not she was protected by her close relation to the ones who ruled the Duchy she would have felt a lot better if she had that familiar guard who hung back in her shadows.

"Come in," she said, at last steeling her nerves and belief in her family's ability to exact punishment on whoever dared hurt her.

As the Lachlan walked in Dagena grasped onto the sheets of the bed as she gasped at what went ahead of him, "Ah! Ye've never seen such have ye?" Lachlan said stomping his peg leg on the wooden floors.

Dagena frantically scanned the rest of Lachlan, she stood and tenderly held Lachlan's hand in hers, "I hadn't realized. I only ever saw you behind the desk." She said with her voice beginning to tremble and her eyes beginning to water.

"Aye. It's fine. It's been like this for years. Don't you cry now, I'm not even a relative of yours." Lachlan's dry, raspy and rather threatening voice seeped away, letting through a calm and endearing one as he pulled Dagena in for a hug.

They both stayed wrapped around each other for a few moments, with only Dagena's occasional sniffling and Lachlan's soothing.

As Dagena finally calmed down and pulled away, Lachlan held onto the sides of her head, a smile on his face as he wiped away remaining tears away from her now slightly swollen eye, "Now then, come for supper will ye? Ye missed lunch so yer getting a big portion."

At this Dagena let out a relieved laugh and followed Lachlan out.

***

Lachlan had not led Dagena to the open parlour where men and women alike drank and ate the cheap foods the inn offered in bounty. He had led her past there and taken her through the door behind the reception desk.

Passing through the rather short door, Dagena was introduced to an entirely different part of the building. Just like the inn itself, this building had another floor. However, the floor she stood on housed a big kitchen with a lot of pots and two burning fires, as well as all the food; tubers, grain fish and meat, as well as a variety of vegetables all carefully organized.

Around the pots stood two women carefully pouring the still steaming hot food into the wooden plates at their disposal. One looked just as old and elderly as Lachlan and the other looked to be no older than Dagena herself. They both sported dark blonde hair but Dagena was unable to tell if that was from the soot or not.

The girl, just about her age swept up the plates and moved swiftly past Dagena, offering a word of greeting as she paced away, "G'morning!" Dagena stuttered out a greeting as well, narrowly avoiding a collision with her.

The girl set the two plates down, one at the head of the table and one just beside it before proceeding to seat herself down, "Benjamin! Sarah! Hurry up and get down here." She called out.

Lachlan tapped Dagena's shoulder, gesturing for her to take a seat, as he walked to the head of the table where the food had been set. Again, the girl seated adjacent to him called out, "Benjamin! Hurry down already, fathers here!"

Soon she heard stomping footsteps descend the stairs, introducing a much smaller looking version of the girl seated at the table, she assumed that would be Sarah, and a blond-haired boy about the same size as the girl he landed at the bottom of the stairs with.

The two brushed past Dagena in their frenzy, not minding nearly pushing her over either, it only served to motivate Dagena to take a seat and stop obstructing the path.

Soon, the woman who Dagena assumed to be Lachlan's wife and mother to the children, walked to the table with two more plates of food setting them down for the two energetic children.

"Hello dear," she said directed at Dagena causing her to straighten up at the sudden attention from someone aside from Lachlan, "My husband here tells me you'll be staying the night and you'd been left all alone by the man who brought you here."

Her face turned sour as she spoke, "Oh, I hope yet another young and irresponsible man has left a young damsel to fend for herself in this chaotic Kingdom." Then just as suddenly, her face brightened up, "Oh, are you with child?" before Dagena could reply she spoke yet again, this time with an anger, "Those scoundrels, men, shirk responsibilities so often it an absolute shame!"

Quickly Dagena shook her head an interrupted what would be another tangent for the woman, "Oh, no, Seinerd wouldn't dare abandon me, he just went to get some supplies that's all." she said, a tender smile on her lips, hoping it would clear up whatever misunderstandings still lingered.

"Oh good! A happy couple. I am so happy for you to find a brave and loving man just like my dearest Lacan here," she said cupping Dagena's cheeks in hand, her voice a high pitch, truly filled with happiness. "I keep telling my Agnes to leave all the smooth-talking men at the guard stations, they won't bring her anything but sorrow when they die in a war, and then who'll take care of her and my grandchildren?"

Again Dagena quickly jumped in to interrupt, "No, Seinerd is just my brother's aide, we don't have any relationship." Dagena promptly dismissed.

"Oh? Then why travel all alone with a man that is your brother's aide, hmm?" the tone of her voice and the way her hands rested on her hips made t clear that she didn't believe a word of what Dagena had said.

Dagena's eyes visibly widened as she for the first time realized the implications of what her journey her looked like to an outsider. Yet again she tried to help her plight and set the woman straight.

"Oh enough already Aine," Lachlan chuckled, "leave the young woman to play whatever with whomever, your warnings alone are surely enough to deter her from any mistakes. Besides, the foods getting cold." He said spoon in hand.

"Yes, it is" Agnes concurred, rolling her eyes as she spooned her now warm plate of pottage.

Aine waved them off and went back to the pot of boiling pottage to fetch another two plates full.

Soon they all sat to eat. All with their full plate of food and nothing else to come except the next day at breakfast. Dagena, of course, had her tastes refined to the surplus variety and special cuisine of her family's cooks didn't have a high opinion for the lumpy bowl of soup before her.

Dagena suddenly heard claps. She looked about her and saw that Lachlan and his family had their heads bowed closely to their respective bowls of lumpy soup and had their hands over their heads clapping.

Quite lost as to what was going on, and rather torn on whether to follow their actions or just observe. She observed.

They were silent for a minute, and their clapping had stopped soon after it had started. Then one after the other beginning with Lachlan they said "Glory onto Ghuuarthia." and rose, digging into their foods as they did.

It was then Dagena understood. Ghuuarthia was the God of Fertile Land and Harvest, many in Saia followed the teachings of the church and to them, the instructions of the gods they served. Most nobles didn't.

As such, prayers were an entirely new experience to Dagena. She was intrigued.

"Hey, pretty lady," Dagena looked up from her food to the child who was referring to her with his sweet words, "Do you not give thanks to Ghuuarthia for the meal? I didn't hear your voice praying." He asked, genuinely curious as most children were growing up.

"Now enough with the questions Benjamin, and her name is Dagena it is impolite to call someone by their features." Lachlan intervened, the boy, Benjamin grumbled out understanding, unsatisfied that his questions weren't answered.

Dagena seeing this simply chuckled and went back to eating her lumpy soup, happy to not have to explain that she only been educated on the Gods of Saia as part of compulsory general knowledge instead of as a religion.

The rest of her supper went on relatively quietly. A bit of food stealing from the little kids and Agnes being lectured by her mother.

It was quiet. That is until Seinerd finally returned.

She had finished up her supper, thanked Lachlan and his family for their hospitality and swiftly left to their upstairs room in the main Inn.

As he returned he brought back with him several bags containing items Dagena more than often saw her father and Rainald handle.

"Are these the materials you said you'd need to communicate with my brother?" she asked.

Seinerd huffed, thoroughly exhausted from the day out, "Yes." He answered simply before preceding to collapse onto the bed and heave out a heavy sigh and close his eyes.

It was obvious he was ready for sleep. But to Dagena it was sleep in the wrong place.

Not hesitating for a moment, Dagena violently pushed him off the bed and on to the floor. The poor man stumbled and rolled but ultimately didn't bother resisting his new place on the floor, Dagena did throw him a pillow which he appreciated.

Dagena got into bed, not bothering to change into her nightgown. She would be heading out soon after all. She closed her eyes and waited for Seinerd to fall into a deep sleep.