Gertie's Choice (2 page)

Ophelia was shocked at her
sister’s behavior. She looked around and saw no one other than the
frightened boys on the ground. She walked up to the boys saying
“Please, do not be afraid.” She handed each one of them an orange
and then she herself walked quickly in a circle around the boys
while whispering a little verse she knew. A light blue mist
trailing her path.

The boys stood up and
thanked her for the oranges and said good-day and left. Any memory
of the last half hour no longer with them.

“Let’s go, Gertrude, we
have showed ourselves enough here and put ourselves in great harm.
All over a watermelon! If you truly are that selfish then I don’t
know what will become of us. You must think carefully before
speaking again. Come!” Ophelia said, walking towards the path that
would take them home.

Neither sister spoke to
the other one on their way home. Each knew that their actions could
bring great trouble to their family. Each still silently blamed the
other for what had occurred.

Chapter 3

The next morning the
sisters were arguing again. “Enough of this!” Their mother scolded.
“What is it this time that could have you two pecking each other’s
eyes out so early in the morn?”

What they had been
fighting about was Gertrude’s refusal to tell their mother what had
happened the day before in the neighboring Village. Ophelia was
trying to convince Gertrude they had to have their mother’s
counsel.

Ophelia spoke first.
“Mother, I am afraid Gertrude and I made a grievous error yesterday
when we went into the Village.”

“What might that be?” Their
mother asked and then added “Gertrude, sit down.” When she noticed
her red haired daughter trying to slip out of the door.

Ophelia told the story as
best she could without placing the blame solely on one shoulder
versus the other. Their mother looked very troubled when Ophelia
finished confessing.

“But I have a plan,
mother!” Gertrude spoke up. “I met the King’s cousin William the
other day and he was quite taken with me.”

“Where did you meet
him?”

“She met him while she was
sitting on that stupid rock near the river when she was supposed to
be helping me finish our chores.” Ophelia said.

“As I was trying to say,
mother.” Gertrude said throwing daggers with her eyes at Ophelia.
“I know I will see him again and that he can help me secure a
position within the Palace walls.” She said.

“And what good will that
do?” Ophelia said.

“No, wait, your sister
might have a point here. Gertrude, if you can accomplish that, then
maybe you can be privy to private conversations about the movement
that we keep hearing about. I would not want you to put yourself
into harm’s way though.”

“I was thinking more of the
position of girlfriend to the King’s cousin, but I guess any way
into the Palace will be a help. That way I can be warned of what
and who is coming that might try and banish us.”

“Yes, I can see how that
might work. However, you have to be a lot more careful than you
have been lately, Gertrude. One slip of the tongue could mean one
slip of the head – ours. So, you think this William will be useful
then?”

“I know he will be,
mother.”

“Then both of you set off
for the Palace and meet with this William.”

“Why do I have to drag
Ophelia with me?” Gertrude whined.

“Afraid I will take your
boyfriend?” Ophelia challenged her.

“Girls! You have to stop
this! Go now. I do not want you on the path after dark.” Their
mother said.

Gertrude and Ophelia put
ribbons in their hair after they brushed it. Then they set off for
the Palace. The Palace was a few miles away, but it was so mammoth
that it could be seen at a distance three times the miles they had
to walk.

When Ophelia and Gertrude
walked up to the Palace gates they saw William standing by a
beautiful carriage. “Look, that is William, he must have just
arrived home!”

“Hello, William, this is my
sister, Ophelia.”

William looked at first
one sister and then the other. He was stunned to have Gertrude
standing right in front of him again and her sister was very pretty
as well. “What brings you to the Palace?” William said, in a tone
that indicated that he wasn’t all that pleased to see them standing
before him.

“Don’t be unkind, William.
We came to see you, of course. Is this your carriage? Can we
perhaps go for a ride?” Gertrude asked, twirling her long red hair
around her finger and smiling her brightest smile.

William was embarrassed
and could not control his nervousness. “I, I, I don’t know
if...”

“William! I told you to
take the horses around to the stables! Julia is looking for you
inside. Why are you wasting time with these two
wenches?”

Ophelia could feel the
heat from the anger rising in her sister and the last thing any of
them needed was another scene like the day before. Only this time
if that would occur, none of them would survive. She took her
sister’s hand and squeezed, hoping to convey the urgency of the
moment.

“Excuse me, Milord, we were
merely inquiring if there were any positions that William here
could help us obtain. I was wondering if he could use his influence
with his cousin, the King, and be of help to us.” Gertie said and
then she curtseyed.

The man laughed out loud.
“William is but a servant himself, he has come to the Palace with
my wife and I. My wife, Julia, is the King’s cousin.” The man then
studied Gertrude a bit too long.
This one
is a real beauty, what a shame that I am
leaving
. He then shook his head and
spoke again.

“My wife is with child and
perhaps she should have help. Come along now inside, Julia can make
that decision. Ophelia and Gertrude started to following the man
through the Palace gates. “Not you.” He pointed to Ophelia. Then he
motioned for Gertrude to follow him. The sisters looked at each
other, fear on their faces. Ophelia nodded to Gertrude, signaling
to her to follow the man.

“So, you are not the King’s
cousin.” Ophelia said to William once the man and her sister had
passed through the gates.

“No, but then I never said
that I was. I met Gertrude one day when I had ventured out too far
and had to inquire about the way back to the Palace.”

“But you were not sorry
that she was left with that impression, aye?”

William smiled. “That man
is Mathew and he can be a real ass. His wife, Julia, is a very nice
person and like he said, she is with child.”

“Was it not dangerous to
travel when you are with child? Do you know when the child will be
birthed?”

“The carriage is grand and
more comfortable than most. But aye, I wouldn’t want me child to be
bounced around in the mother that way.” William said blushing at
his words. “Gertrude will be alright in there, would you like to
walk to the stables with me? I don’t want Milord to have any reason
to be displeased with me yet again.”

“Might as well. It’s nice
a ‘meeting you, William.” Ophelia said, her face registering a bit
of heat as well.

Gertrude was brought to a
young woman who was heavy with child and laying in a very big four
poster bed. “Milady, I have brought a servant girl to assist
you.”

His wife took one look at
the beautiful young girl with the flame red hair and asked her
husband “In which alehouse did you find this one,
Mathew?”

“Your cousin and I are
departing now. This girl will stay and take care of you and the
child. There is another one in the waiting if this one does not
please you. I will see you and the child upon our return. We shall
be gone a great deal of time. There is much ground to cover and
much work to do.”

“That is fine, Milord, now
please just take your leave.” The woman said. Mathew started to
leave and then his wife said “What is the servant’s name, Mathew?”
Addressing her husband instead of Gertrude.

“
How should I know? “
Mathew said and with that turned and left the room.

For a few moments, neither
woman spoke. Then Gertrude said “My name is Gertrude, Milady. Is
there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?”

The woman lifted her head
out of the covers and took a good long look at Gertrude. “Where did
my husband find you, Gertrude was it?”

“Aye. My sister Ophelia
and I met William the other day in the forest and she and I came
here today to see if he could help me obtain employment here.”
Gertrude said. Tis only a moment past that your husband and my
sister and I have met.”

The lady sat fully up and
then walked over to the window. She watched her husband and the
King ride off with many men. She stood there for so long that
Gertrude was not sure what she should do, so she did
nothing.

The lady finally turned
away from the window and sat down. “My name is Julia and I am a
distant cousin of the Crown. Tell me about yourself, Gertrude. May
I call you Gertie?”

Gertrude couldn’t help
hearing in her mind the children’s taunts of the other
morning
Flirty Gertie!

“
Yes, Milady, you can call
me whatever suits you best. I live in the forest with my mother and
my sister, Ophelia. She is outside waiting for me.”

“I thought you came for a
position, but you intend to go back home now?” Julia asked her new
employee.

“Ophelia walked here with
me, we did not know if we would be able to talk to anyone or if we
would be sent away. I will be happy to stay, I ask only that I am
allowed to tell my sister good-bye.”

“Of course, tell William
that I said to take your sister home so she does not have to walk
alone. He will not be allowed to take one of the royal coaches of
course, but there is a wagon or two he could choose from. I would
not like to hear of your sister walking alone in the forest.” Julia
said.

“There have been rumors,
some say that it might soon become unsafe for anyone to be walking
in the forest.” Gertrude said.
Might as
well get right to it!
She
thought.

Julia seemed to have a
faraway look in her eye. “It is unfortunate, but that could be the
case. There has been a directive ordering the purification of the
land. To rid the land of those who would dare practice sorcery,
witchcraft or the likes.”

“And they feel that is the
case here, in these forests?” Gertrude asked, fear causing her
throat to constrict.

“
Mathew
thinks so. In fact, he procured the services of a huntsman. He
feels
a
dichotomy
of
views is urgently needed on the immediate horizon.”

“
A huntsman?”

“Yes, a man who has been
trained to smell out and eliminate any form of the supernatural. I
believe he intends to have mass burnings.” Julia said.

Gertrude felt as if she
were going to faint. “With your permission, Milady, may I say my
goodbyes to my sister Ophelia now?”

“Yes, of course, Gertie.
When you come back to the room, I have several garments that need
to be washed.”

Gertie walked down the
long staircase, willing herself not to run. At that moment she did
not know if she should just leave now and never come back. But she
realized that this woman already knew her name and the name of her
sister and that they live in the forest. She decided it would be
better to stay. Maybe she could learn more of the Huntsman’s
plans.

When Gertie walked out of
the Palace gates she did not see her sister, nor William. She felt
a stab of fear for her sibling, but then she heard
laughter.

“There you are, you were
gone a long time. Did you get to meet the King’s cousin?” Ophelia
said smiling, clearly laughing at her sister for believing that
William was not only the King’s cousin, but also her future
husband.

“Yes, I did. Julia offered
me the job and she is heavy with child.”

“And you are to do, what
exactly? I forget Gertrude, tell me again what you are so qualified
to do?”

Gertie ignored her sister
and instead turned to William. “William, Julia said to take one of
the smaller wagons and make sure my sister gets home safely. I will
be staying here.”

“With no clothes?” Ophelia
said.

“It should be fine,
Ophelia. Tell momma I am sorry I did not get to say goodbye.
William, may I have a moment alone with Ophelia?”

“Aye, I’ll go round up the
wagons. Be right back, Ophelia.” William said, smiling.

When he was out of earshot
Gertie told her sister of her conversation with Julia and how it
was Julia’s husband who was one of the huntsmen, but that a much
greater threat was about to ascend on them.

“I am worried about you,
Gertrude. Please be careful and no….” She paused to look around
again just to make sure. “No blue mist, you must promise me that or
I shall never sleep again so full my head will be with
worry!”