August Entries!

[ladyshalott]

Hello members!

Thank you to everyone who took part. This month's competition entries are here:

Entry One

They was beginning of September, and was time for the feast of wine. This feast apart from the trial of new wine, contained also a variety from foods, dances and songs. It was a traditional feast, with very ancient roots and annually already in Graecia. Wine producers from the all around regions, came and were shared ideas, but also advices for the right care of wine. That was the work of men.

The women they dealt with the care of fruits, vegetables but also meats, where they would enjoy several noble but also and citizens. Polyxena usually did not help never the remainder women in this work, other this years was her line to take part also. It did not know precisely how it gathers never fruits or vegetables, she did not have work in her life and now it was the time. Always she ate all the fruits with very big pleasure, but she never gathered them by herself.

After the preparations for the big feast had kept for days, they was the day, the night, the hour for the big amusement. All the guest had fun, smiled, spoke effervescently and danced. The Ladies wore very impressive dresses in intensely automnal colours. The gentlemen very polite and cheerful entertained and also was flirting the beautiful Ladies. Xenia as the daughter of King, should have tryed all the delicacies. Sat doubly to her father and front unfolded a big table with a enormous variety from difference foods. All the foods was appearred so much tastily and seductively. Now she was prepared to trys a lot of automnal, fresh fruits. Green and red fresh grapes, green in a fresh way pear-tree, deep red and hard apples and many other juicy fruits. Apart from all these fruits existed many good cooked meats. Just Xenia couldn't know from where to start.

Entry Two

Only a few more steps. She could do that, yes? Of course she could, she had to, even if her legs were stiff and she hardly could lift them anymore, more staggered than walked onwards. But onwards she must go, Yassia had no other choice. The dull ache in her belly had died down yesterday, and it was only reason telling her that this was a bad sign. When she couldn’t even feel the hunger anymore, this must mean she was beyond hungry. She must be starved. She had never had any experience with this, but a lack of experience here could mean the end of her life. Now even the sheer mentioning of food made her want to pass out, but she could not. She had to reach this teasingly beckoning wisp of smoke there… belonging to a shack in the woods. Smoke meant fire… and fire meant… no, don’t think, just walk. Left… right.

Leaning heavily against the wood, Yassia could barely muster the strength to raise her hand and knock. It was more a feeble scratching and when the door was opened, her dry lips parted in a miserable failure of a smile. “Please… “ she started, but was interrupted by a harsh voice, belonging to the weathered and dark face of a charburner with tired eyes. “No begging at our door! We barely have enough to feed ourselves. Get you gone!”

Yassia could feel her eyes fill with tears of desperation and exhaustion, but she tried to blink them back. “Just a crust of bread, I beg you. Someone stole my purse, I have no money to buy food, and I have to reach—“ “I said no!” the man repeated, his voice now almost commiserate, yet still firm. “I’m sorry, but we have nothing to share. My wife’s with her fourth child, and we lost our youngest just weeks ago. I have to think of my family first.”
She saw in his eyes that he won’t be swayed and as she didn’t have the strength to argue further, Yassia turned on her heels and staggered onwards. She didn’t get far though. Near an enclosure that housed a rather meager and dirty pig, Yassia stumbled and curled up into a ball. Maybe if she slept a while she would feel better…

Gentle hands shaking her shoulder brought her back to consciousness it seemed just seconds later, and as she wearily blinked against the dimming light, she saw the figure of a woman bending over her, big with child and yet far from thriving as this state normally made women appear. She felt something being shoved into her hands and heard the woman say: “I was about to give this to the pig, but it can last another day without food. You can’t.” Then she was gone and Yassia was left with two old pieces bread, hard and moldy in places. And yet it felt like in all her life she hadn’t tasted anything better.

Entry Three

“Can I take the blindfold off now?” Caitrin asked as she came to a stop. Despite Griff telling her that she would enjoy this, and that she just had to have faith in him, she wasn’t enjoying it, and was finding her faith draining out of her. She had been practically dragged from the estate, through the fields and then into the woods, all the while blindfolded, because her husband had thought that it would be a ‘good idea’.

“Not yet.” Griff’s voice was quite a way off in the distance, and Caitrin tried to step forwards, but thought better of it. She was practically blind after all. Caitrin just sighed, and was about to make another comment when she felt Griff return to her, “Ready?” Her vision returned to her, and it took a few moments before she was able to focus on the little scene in front of her.

There was a small blanket that had been laid out with a basket, wine and pillows for them both, and a candle which was yet to be lit. Griff looked incredibly pleased with himself as he led his wife to the blanket. Caitrin was still in shock,

“What’s all this for?” She asked, a grin at her lips, Griff poured out a goblet of wine and handed it to her,

“Our anniversary, or did you think I’d forgotten.” Caitrin of course would never admit that she had thought that he had forgotten; instead, suspicion overran her guilt,

“Did Gwaine tell you to do this?”

“I’m insulted you would even consider that.” Griff said with a mock tone of annoyance. Caitrin knew that her husband was good friends with the knight, and it wouldn’t have surprised her if this had been his idea. However, she gave Griff the benefit of the doubt and opened the basket, but found herself frowning,

“Erm, Griff?”

“What?”

“There’s no food in here.” She told him, trying to keep a straight face, given her husband’s current expression. Griff took one look at the basket before groaning,

“I’m going to kill Gwaine.” Caitrin had already raised her eye brows,

“I thought you did all this by yourself.” Griff had stood up, and was looking off into the forest, probably hoping to catch the knight fleeing,

“He helped a little, someone had to watch this while I got you.” Caitrin just stared at him,

“So you thought Gwaine was the right person to watch over a basket full of food?” When she put it like that, even Griff began to wonder at his own logic. He turned back round to his wife, and scratched his neck; this was going so well. To his surprise, Caitrin was laughing. He’d expected her to be annoyed, and make some comment, but she was just...laughing. “Well, at least he didn’t have the wine.” Griff nodded, but began to grumble,

“No, true.” He said, taking a sip of his wine, “He just took my ale instead.”

Please PM me your votes by 8th September.


Lady of Shalott