We were moving again. I liked moving around and exploring new places, but sometimes it just got tedious. It would be nice to settle down someplace.
“Why are we moving again?” I asked, “What was wrong with the last place?”
The clearing we had moved from wasn’t perfect, but it was still something I missed. There were climbing trees, a nearby pond, and even a bunch of fruit trees.
“I know you liked the last place Sandra,” my mother replied, “but like I’ve said before, we can’t stay in one place too long.”
“We should be arriving soon.” my father chipped in. “The area I found is just over that hilltop.”
Every time my parents found it necessary to move, Dad would go away for a day or two and come back with a suitable location to set up a new camp.
“Can we take a break?” I asked.
“Come on Cassandra, ten minutes and we will be there.” He said.
My mother responded, “Maybe on your long legs, but you’re forgetting that a child is following you.”
He stopped, turned around and walked to me.
“Alright, come here.” He said.
I giggled as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I rode his back the rest of the way there. He put me down when we reached the clearing.
“What do you think?” Dad asked.
“Well Aaron.” Mom responded. “Let’s get settled and I will let you know.”
“Okay.” He said. “I am going to find some dinner, you two can rest up and get a fire going.”
He laid most of what he was carrying down but kept his bow and headed back into the woods. Mom and I sat down to get some rest.
“Tell me how you and Dad met” I said to my mom.
I had heard the story before, but I always liked hearing it again.
“Well,” She began. “My province had been under siege for several days. I didn’t want to risk the lives of any of my servants, so I had to sneak out to get help myself, things started out well, but someone found me before I made it out. I started to run but my dress got caught in a bramble and I tripped. The man who found me drew his sword as he got closer to me. I thought I was finished. Before he got me though, your father rode in on a brown horse, seemingly from nowhere. He knocked that guy out with one hit from the hilt of his sword.”
She waved he hand around attempting to mimic the knock-out motion.
She continued “’Do you need a lift young maiden?’ he said to me. I accepted after telling him that I was in fact a duchess, not a maiden. It was a good thing he happened to be hunting in that area. Weather it was luck or a miracle I will never know. Either way I was able to get to the kings castle and get some more soldiers to take back the area. He and I continued seeing each other after that. A couple of years later we got married, a couple of years more and you were born.”
“Why did you leave your province? Was there something wrong with it?” I asked.
“No, it was actually a nice place. We lived comfortably there for some time, until the king told us to do something we couldn’t bring ourselves to do.”
“What was that?” I asked.
“He had a giant statue built in honor of himself. He called all the dukes and duchesses to the area. I didn’t know why I had to be there, but I went, you and your father were there too. I gathered in front of the statue with everyone else. That is when everyone was instructed to bow to this statue, as if it were a god!”
“Why didn’t you just bow? It doesn’t seem like a big deal.”
“To kneel or bow your head as a sign of respect is one thing but we commanded not only to bow, but to worship this object. That kind of worship is something that we only offer to our creator. While everyone else bowed, your father and I stood our ground.”
“What happened after that?” I asked.
“A nearby guard approached us and told us to bow. When we refused, he grabbed my shoulder and told me that the penalty for my disobedience was death. That’s when your father punched him. The other nearby guards noticed and started approaching us, the only thing we could do was get out of there as fast as we could. We made it back home without much trouble. But word had gotten out of what we had done. Me being a duchess, and your father being a high-ranking knight, we were setting an example for many other citizens. The king wanted us dead, there was, and is to this day, a bounty on our heads. That’s why we need to keep moving around.”
We sat for a few minutes just listening to the birds.
“We should get a fire going,” Said my mom, “Your father will be back soon with a kill.”
I walked around the edge of the clearing for a while picking up sticks and collecting berries. Dad didn’t get back until the sun was low over the horizon. He was carrying a few rabbits with him. I ran up to him and hugged him as soon as I noticed him.
We spent the remainder of the evening sitting around the fire telling stories and cooking the rabbits my dad caught. After the sun set we unpacked our blankets and laid out in the field, the weather was clear so we didn’t have to worry much about shelter tonight.
As I started to drift off to sleep, I wondered what my life would be like if my mom was still a duchess and my dad a knight. I would probably have some friends and have a nice room. I would certainly have more stuff, but I didn’t really care about that. I had my family, and that was all that mattered.
.
