Post by Wink on Nov 18, 2009 18:50:27 GMT -5
"Well I suppose I ought to explain myself, mum always says a girl, um, a LADY ought to speak plainly and clearly when she does speak, so that nobody has to ask her to repeat herself. She says it's 'genteel' but I don't know what that means and I was gonna ask but she was givin me that look that says "Wink, don't you give me none of your lip and you just smile and nod and agree because I'm your momma and I know what's best."."
The girl nods once for emphasis. "So I did and I do! Um. Where was I?"
"Oh! Right! You wanted to know where I came from. Well that isn't interesting really, I mean I live - er, lived I suppose now - with my mum and da in a little old house out in the middle of nowhere - on the borders of Elwynn really, it's a nice pretty house on a farm and we have trees. Apple trees! Takes a little over a half day or so by wagon to get all the way to Goldshire, so mum usually does her shopping once a week and gets more than we will ever ever evereverever need."
"Uhm. I guess that's not really the beginning though is it. Mum always said I start in the middle and I ought to start at the beginning. Right. " She scuffs her foot on the floor, mildly embarassed.
"I was born in the little farmhouse almost nineteen years ago - nineteen next month - and the only one there to catch me was my da, I mean they would've had someone come from Goldshire but my mum said she felt her water break and next thing you know, quick as a wink I was there - HEY! THAT'S probably why she called me Wink! I should let that elf lady know, she wondered and I wondered too and I never really thought abou-" The girl catches herself mid-sentence, eyes wide with excitement and halts before going on, realizing she really ought to get back on track.
"-oh. Oh yeah! Where I was born. I'm sorry, I just get so excited really. So! Mum and da had the doctor come all the way out to make sure I was okay, mum said I was squallin from the moment I felt the air on my face and she hasn't been able to keep me quiet since but I don't pay that any attention because I mean she likes to make things up sometimes and she thinks she's right but I bet I know better. I do!"
"Wait. The doctor! He came out and said I was fine, but mum wasn't so fine - I don't know what happened exactly but he told mum she wasn't to be having any more babies. Da was sad because he wanted a boy - well that's fine and all but he knew mum was sick so he said a little girl was just fine with him."
The girl gestures with her hands, still smiling cheerily. "And then I grew, and I grew, and I grew! We didn't really pay the rest of the world much mind, I mean it's easier I suspect when you're just happy as ducks in a pond, pickin' apples and sellin' them to whoever wants to buy! And my mum and da's apples are famous - why, my mum said even the KING had one and he liked it! Can you imagine!"
Her eyes widen just so, her tone hushed. "Have YOU seen the King? I have, once!" She bites her lip, blushing faintly. "He has really pretty hair," she mumbles, then blinks in confusion.
"Oh! But me, you were asking about me weren't you - well I got to the age of about oh, thirteen or so and I was happy as a fox in a henhouse, runnin' all over the farm and helping my daddy with the chores and pickin' apples and sometimes I'd go swim in the river and mum taught me how to read and write and do figures in my head, said no little girl of hers was gonna grow up stupid, mind, and I learned and I helped out and I ran around and...and I forget where I was at. Thirteen! Right." She blushes again, a faint scarlet.
"So mum sat me down one day, just before I turned fourteen, and she said she and da were noticin' that I was getting older and I wasn't really a little girl anymore, she suspected, and I ought to be being more proper," the word is said with more than a little disdain, "-and I said all right but I wasn't really sure what that meant exactly."
"Do you know? It meant doing MORE figures and MORE reading and MORE learning - all about the history of the area, she had a set of books and made me read 'em over and over and used to test me on everything to make sure I got it all straight. And I do! I know all about Stormwind, and the king and the war way back when and how the WHOLE CITY was overrun by orcs, can you imagine? And then the King came back and saved everyone and the city was rebuilt just as fine as you please but that's really as far as we got."
She wrinkled her nose, the freckles scattered thereon flexing in a dizzy array to one who stared at them too closely. "ANYWAY, before you know it here I am at sixteen almost SEVENTEEN and I'm still helping out my daddy with the chores and picking apples. And he had some friends come by to help out, said there were more apples than he could even COUNT that year, so we needed the extra help! Da sure was happy that the fields were doing so well!"
She bites her lip again, her brow furrowing in evident bewilderment. "So there I am up in a tree, just as pleased as a plant that just found the sunshine, picking apples, and da's friends were down below and they were talkin'. And one of 'em was talking to da, and da turned and looked at me. And I mean da's looked at me before mind, but he looked at me as though he really SAW me for the first time ever. And da and his friends all went back in the house - he told me they were gonna talk to momma."
Sighing, her shoulders drooped, her tone taking a slightly mournful edge. "And that night I was helping momma with the dishes and she said she and I needed to Talk. I said what for, and she said let's finish the dishes first and we did but I was worried because I thought maybe something was wrong with da, he was acting all funny! And we put away the dishes and we went to my room, and my mum tucked me into bed just like she used to when I was little."
Her face inexplicably darkens to a vivid crimson once more. "...and then ma said I wasn't her little girl anymore, and it was pretty obvious to daddy's friends that I oughtn't be picking apples with the rest of them, and that I was...what did she say...'a fine young figure of a lady', whatever THAT means," she wrinkles her nose again, the freckles rearranging themselves on her face, "And she said da was thinking it was probably high time I ought to be acting like a lady instead of getting my hands dirty picking apples."
"But I LIKE picking apples," she continued, her voice plaintive. "But mum said that it was time I ought to be looking at getting a husband. Which didn't make any sense to ME, I mean I was doing just FINE helping out daddy! And I tried to tell her that, I really did, but she just put her hand on my arm and looked at me, all quiet and gentle-like, and said that she had taught me every single lesson she could think of to teach me, and asked me if I really wanted to help my daddy."
Waving her arms in the air, the girl's eyes widen dramatically. "Well of COURSE I want to help my da, that's what I was trying to TELL her - and she says I can do something that's a much bigger help to them than picking apples. And I asked her well what's that - and she said she and daddy needed help, I mean what with all the trees and the apples and the selling and the buying, it was hard for mum to handle all that all on her own, and now da was talking about hiring his friends to live out there on the farm permanently! Paying them in room and board, and all the apples they could eat of course, and a nice little bundle of gold a year. Momma said she wasn't going to be able to keep track of all the accounts and things AND watch over the farm and the farmhands - and on top of all that, she said they'd just gotten a contract with two of the inns in STORMWIND! Here!"
The girl gestures around them both, beaming. "Can you imagine! And she said what would help the most is if I took all that learnin she gave me, and watched the books and the accounts and made sure they were making enough money to keep the farm going. Well that sounded fine to me, but she had kind of a funny catch in her voice and she said that she and daddy had discussed it and the best place for me to go do all of that was Stormwind itself."
She falls silent, quietly chewing her lip, her voice low. "So...well...I mean...I couldn't really say no," she stammered out. "I-I wanted to help them, I really did. And...and I mean surely there must be trees to climb in Stormwind, and rivers to swim in, a-and...well there wasn't really but that's besides the point I suppose now isn't it? And it is!"
Her complexion brightens, a cheery smile on her face once more. "And momma was so happy! She said daddy would be happy to. And um...um..." The expression falters, the smile growing more forced by the second. "...and then she said while I was away, I was to keep myself to myself, and to mind my elders, and to be polite and respectful, because I was the face of the company, after all. " She sighed. "And she patted my arm and said while I was doing all of that, why she was going to find a husband for me. That way, I could inherit...well my husband would - the farm, when she and daddy were done with apples."
The girl sulks. "And THEN she said I could have lots of babies, so she could have lots of grand-kids, and she was smiling so big I thought she was gonna split her face in TWO. You know," she pondered, tapping her chin with her fingers, "I bet it's cos she only ever had one herself maybe. Maybe."
The silence is deafening and sweetly welcome as she closes her mouth, for a moment lost in thought.
It didn't last long enough.
"ANYWAY," she goes on, somewhat nervously, "She told me she'd find me a fine husband and then she said it was probably high time she taught me about b-b-being a w-wife and b-babies and..." she begins to stammer, her cheeks slowly turning crimson. "And I don't expect I should really share -that- conversation, but needless to say by the end of it I didn't know which way was up or down because the stuff she talked about, hoo!"
The girl blinks a few times, still clearly baffled by it all. "Right...right! So mum kissed my cheek and told me to get some sleep and she'd tell daddy straightaway that I was willing to go. But I couldn't hardly sleep for the wonder of it all! Me! In Stormwind! The KING lives here!"
At the word King, she bites her lip, glancing sideways as if hoping somewhat in vain to catch a glimpse of him parading down the street, like THAT would ever happen.
"So daddy was just smiling and smiling in the morning, and they packed my things, and mum spent the next few weeks teaching me the books and accounts, and then daddy and I got in the wagon and we went ALL THE WAY to Stormwind. I still remember the first time I SAW it, oh my gosh! I waved at the guards and they waved BACK and General MARCUS was standing just how-do-you-do and then we went around the main gates and OH! So many stores! And daddy found me a room, and said I was responsible-" the word causes her to frown, "-for payin the rent when it was due. So I do! Every month, like clockwork!" She nods for emphasis, clearly pleased with herself.
"So here I've been, watching the books and taking care of business and well...well watching people," she chirped gleefully, "-I like watching people! They tell stories. EVERYONE has stories here!" Her eyes are wide, expressive, shining with wonder. "And I want to learn them all!"
Lost in thought for another moment, the girl catches her breath before continuing. "And I've learned lots, I really have. I've been here a little over a year now! And mum sends me letters three times a week, and I send her the ledgers so she can see what a good job I'm doing. And that's that!"
With a flourish, she finishes. And just as it seems she's finally, finally done talking - oh, there goes her mouth again. "Only..." she mumbles plaintively, "I miss picking apples. I really do. I mean I have fancy clothes and all that, and people are nice mostly, but it's not...the same, I guess." She sighs. "I guess I'll get to see the farm again when mum finds me a husband. You know, I was all mad about that fit to be tied, and I got...well I got a wild hair up my tail and I got these piercings, see?" She points to the tiny, barely visible little rings of metal in her eyebrow and nose. "They were pretty! And momma was SO MAD when I told her, I thought she was gonna come thundering all the way down here and rip them out herself!"
She quiets, her tone guilt-stricken. "And then I got a letter from my daddy. He never wrote me all by himself before, he'd usually just tell my mum to add it to her letter. And...and he s-said he was r-real d-d-disappointed in me. Said I made momma cry for hours and hours, and said I ought to be making her happy, and he didn't want to hear about any of that nonsense ever again."
She bites her lip. "S-so I'm doing my best. To behave and mind, like they said. But...it's sort of boring, isn't it sometimes? I mean you're here all the time, you must be tired of it."
"So that's how I'm doing. I'm bored. Real bored right now. But maybe I'll run into those people I met the other night again. They were neat! Anyway, I should be going, I've got an auction to check on. Thank you for asking how I was sir, you have a good day!"
She shook his hand with a startlingly firm grip, nearly crushing the thing in her enthusiasm, and scuttled off, just as cheery and bright-eyes as she'd always been.
And Topper McNabb quietly resolved to never, ever ask anyone how they were doing ever again.
The girl nods once for emphasis. "So I did and I do! Um. Where was I?"
"Oh! Right! You wanted to know where I came from. Well that isn't interesting really, I mean I live - er, lived I suppose now - with my mum and da in a little old house out in the middle of nowhere - on the borders of Elwynn really, it's a nice pretty house on a farm and we have trees. Apple trees! Takes a little over a half day or so by wagon to get all the way to Goldshire, so mum usually does her shopping once a week and gets more than we will ever ever evereverever need."
"Uhm. I guess that's not really the beginning though is it. Mum always said I start in the middle and I ought to start at the beginning. Right. " She scuffs her foot on the floor, mildly embarassed.
"I was born in the little farmhouse almost nineteen years ago - nineteen next month - and the only one there to catch me was my da, I mean they would've had someone come from Goldshire but my mum said she felt her water break and next thing you know, quick as a wink I was there - HEY! THAT'S probably why she called me Wink! I should let that elf lady know, she wondered and I wondered too and I never really thought abou-" The girl catches herself mid-sentence, eyes wide with excitement and halts before going on, realizing she really ought to get back on track.
"-oh. Oh yeah! Where I was born. I'm sorry, I just get so excited really. So! Mum and da had the doctor come all the way out to make sure I was okay, mum said I was squallin from the moment I felt the air on my face and she hasn't been able to keep me quiet since but I don't pay that any attention because I mean she likes to make things up sometimes and she thinks she's right but I bet I know better. I do!"
"Wait. The doctor! He came out and said I was fine, but mum wasn't so fine - I don't know what happened exactly but he told mum she wasn't to be having any more babies. Da was sad because he wanted a boy - well that's fine and all but he knew mum was sick so he said a little girl was just fine with him."
The girl gestures with her hands, still smiling cheerily. "And then I grew, and I grew, and I grew! We didn't really pay the rest of the world much mind, I mean it's easier I suspect when you're just happy as ducks in a pond, pickin' apples and sellin' them to whoever wants to buy! And my mum and da's apples are famous - why, my mum said even the KING had one and he liked it! Can you imagine!"
Her eyes widen just so, her tone hushed. "Have YOU seen the King? I have, once!" She bites her lip, blushing faintly. "He has really pretty hair," she mumbles, then blinks in confusion.
"Oh! But me, you were asking about me weren't you - well I got to the age of about oh, thirteen or so and I was happy as a fox in a henhouse, runnin' all over the farm and helping my daddy with the chores and pickin' apples and sometimes I'd go swim in the river and mum taught me how to read and write and do figures in my head, said no little girl of hers was gonna grow up stupid, mind, and I learned and I helped out and I ran around and...and I forget where I was at. Thirteen! Right." She blushes again, a faint scarlet.
"So mum sat me down one day, just before I turned fourteen, and she said she and da were noticin' that I was getting older and I wasn't really a little girl anymore, she suspected, and I ought to be being more proper," the word is said with more than a little disdain, "-and I said all right but I wasn't really sure what that meant exactly."
"Do you know? It meant doing MORE figures and MORE reading and MORE learning - all about the history of the area, she had a set of books and made me read 'em over and over and used to test me on everything to make sure I got it all straight. And I do! I know all about Stormwind, and the king and the war way back when and how the WHOLE CITY was overrun by orcs, can you imagine? And then the King came back and saved everyone and the city was rebuilt just as fine as you please but that's really as far as we got."
She wrinkled her nose, the freckles scattered thereon flexing in a dizzy array to one who stared at them too closely. "ANYWAY, before you know it here I am at sixteen almost SEVENTEEN and I'm still helping out my daddy with the chores and picking apples. And he had some friends come by to help out, said there were more apples than he could even COUNT that year, so we needed the extra help! Da sure was happy that the fields were doing so well!"
She bites her lip again, her brow furrowing in evident bewilderment. "So there I am up in a tree, just as pleased as a plant that just found the sunshine, picking apples, and da's friends were down below and they were talkin'. And one of 'em was talking to da, and da turned and looked at me. And I mean da's looked at me before mind, but he looked at me as though he really SAW me for the first time ever. And da and his friends all went back in the house - he told me they were gonna talk to momma."
Sighing, her shoulders drooped, her tone taking a slightly mournful edge. "And that night I was helping momma with the dishes and she said she and I needed to Talk. I said what for, and she said let's finish the dishes first and we did but I was worried because I thought maybe something was wrong with da, he was acting all funny! And we put away the dishes and we went to my room, and my mum tucked me into bed just like she used to when I was little."
Her face inexplicably darkens to a vivid crimson once more. "...and then ma said I wasn't her little girl anymore, and it was pretty obvious to daddy's friends that I oughtn't be picking apples with the rest of them, and that I was...what did she say...'a fine young figure of a lady', whatever THAT means," she wrinkles her nose again, the freckles rearranging themselves on her face, "And she said da was thinking it was probably high time I ought to be acting like a lady instead of getting my hands dirty picking apples."
"But I LIKE picking apples," she continued, her voice plaintive. "But mum said that it was time I ought to be looking at getting a husband. Which didn't make any sense to ME, I mean I was doing just FINE helping out daddy! And I tried to tell her that, I really did, but she just put her hand on my arm and looked at me, all quiet and gentle-like, and said that she had taught me every single lesson she could think of to teach me, and asked me if I really wanted to help my daddy."
Waving her arms in the air, the girl's eyes widen dramatically. "Well of COURSE I want to help my da, that's what I was trying to TELL her - and she says I can do something that's a much bigger help to them than picking apples. And I asked her well what's that - and she said she and daddy needed help, I mean what with all the trees and the apples and the selling and the buying, it was hard for mum to handle all that all on her own, and now da was talking about hiring his friends to live out there on the farm permanently! Paying them in room and board, and all the apples they could eat of course, and a nice little bundle of gold a year. Momma said she wasn't going to be able to keep track of all the accounts and things AND watch over the farm and the farmhands - and on top of all that, she said they'd just gotten a contract with two of the inns in STORMWIND! Here!"
The girl gestures around them both, beaming. "Can you imagine! And she said what would help the most is if I took all that learnin she gave me, and watched the books and the accounts and made sure they were making enough money to keep the farm going. Well that sounded fine to me, but she had kind of a funny catch in her voice and she said that she and daddy had discussed it and the best place for me to go do all of that was Stormwind itself."
She falls silent, quietly chewing her lip, her voice low. "So...well...I mean...I couldn't really say no," she stammered out. "I-I wanted to help them, I really did. And...and I mean surely there must be trees to climb in Stormwind, and rivers to swim in, a-and...well there wasn't really but that's besides the point I suppose now isn't it? And it is!"
Her complexion brightens, a cheery smile on her face once more. "And momma was so happy! She said daddy would be happy to. And um...um..." The expression falters, the smile growing more forced by the second. "...and then she said while I was away, I was to keep myself to myself, and to mind my elders, and to be polite and respectful, because I was the face of the company, after all. " She sighed. "And she patted my arm and said while I was doing all of that, why she was going to find a husband for me. That way, I could inherit...well my husband would - the farm, when she and daddy were done with apples."
The girl sulks. "And THEN she said I could have lots of babies, so she could have lots of grand-kids, and she was smiling so big I thought she was gonna split her face in TWO. You know," she pondered, tapping her chin with her fingers, "I bet it's cos she only ever had one herself maybe. Maybe."
The silence is deafening and sweetly welcome as she closes her mouth, for a moment lost in thought.
It didn't last long enough.
"ANYWAY," she goes on, somewhat nervously, "She told me she'd find me a fine husband and then she said it was probably high time she taught me about b-b-being a w-wife and b-babies and..." she begins to stammer, her cheeks slowly turning crimson. "And I don't expect I should really share -that- conversation, but needless to say by the end of it I didn't know which way was up or down because the stuff she talked about, hoo!"
The girl blinks a few times, still clearly baffled by it all. "Right...right! So mum kissed my cheek and told me to get some sleep and she'd tell daddy straightaway that I was willing to go. But I couldn't hardly sleep for the wonder of it all! Me! In Stormwind! The KING lives here!"
At the word King, she bites her lip, glancing sideways as if hoping somewhat in vain to catch a glimpse of him parading down the street, like THAT would ever happen.
"So daddy was just smiling and smiling in the morning, and they packed my things, and mum spent the next few weeks teaching me the books and accounts, and then daddy and I got in the wagon and we went ALL THE WAY to Stormwind. I still remember the first time I SAW it, oh my gosh! I waved at the guards and they waved BACK and General MARCUS was standing just how-do-you-do and then we went around the main gates and OH! So many stores! And daddy found me a room, and said I was responsible-" the word causes her to frown, "-for payin the rent when it was due. So I do! Every month, like clockwork!" She nods for emphasis, clearly pleased with herself.
"So here I've been, watching the books and taking care of business and well...well watching people," she chirped gleefully, "-I like watching people! They tell stories. EVERYONE has stories here!" Her eyes are wide, expressive, shining with wonder. "And I want to learn them all!"
Lost in thought for another moment, the girl catches her breath before continuing. "And I've learned lots, I really have. I've been here a little over a year now! And mum sends me letters three times a week, and I send her the ledgers so she can see what a good job I'm doing. And that's that!"
With a flourish, she finishes. And just as it seems she's finally, finally done talking - oh, there goes her mouth again. "Only..." she mumbles plaintively, "I miss picking apples. I really do. I mean I have fancy clothes and all that, and people are nice mostly, but it's not...the same, I guess." She sighs. "I guess I'll get to see the farm again when mum finds me a husband. You know, I was all mad about that fit to be tied, and I got...well I got a wild hair up my tail and I got these piercings, see?" She points to the tiny, barely visible little rings of metal in her eyebrow and nose. "They were pretty! And momma was SO MAD when I told her, I thought she was gonna come thundering all the way down here and rip them out herself!"
She quiets, her tone guilt-stricken. "And then I got a letter from my daddy. He never wrote me all by himself before, he'd usually just tell my mum to add it to her letter. And...and he s-said he was r-real d-d-disappointed in me. Said I made momma cry for hours and hours, and said I ought to be making her happy, and he didn't want to hear about any of that nonsense ever again."
She bites her lip. "S-so I'm doing my best. To behave and mind, like they said. But...it's sort of boring, isn't it sometimes? I mean you're here all the time, you must be tired of it."
"So that's how I'm doing. I'm bored. Real bored right now. But maybe I'll run into those people I met the other night again. They were neat! Anyway, I should be going, I've got an auction to check on. Thank you for asking how I was sir, you have a good day!"
She shook his hand with a startlingly firm grip, nearly crushing the thing in her enthusiasm, and scuttled off, just as cheery and bright-eyes as she'd always been.
And Topper McNabb quietly resolved to never, ever ask anyone how they were doing ever again.
Founded April 26, 2005