Not the Kissin' Kind
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As the town meeting wound down, Ash found herself more and more excited about the prospect of leaving Four Rivers. She'd caught both the Warden and Liser looking at her more than once with worried expressions, already dreading how the girl's absence would affect them. Her boundless energy and endless prattle, usually so annoying, and yet the thought of going without it – left them somehow empty.
What the keen rogue didn't see that night, as the elders droned on, was the look in her pal Grissom's eyes. Had she ever seen him for anything other than the dependable chum and partner in mischief, that he was, she might have recognized the wistful and yet woeful look in his dark eyes. The thought of his long time friend leaving had stirred something that had been growing within him for quite some time.
Everyone was tired when the meeting finally ended, and almost everyone made their way out of the inn, more than a bit wearier than when they'd arrived. Weights were in their minds and on their shoulders that were harder to bear than their usual worries of weather, crops and mending.
Ash promised the Warden that she'd be home shortly, but wanted to stay behind to help Liser clean up a bit. It wasn't often that the town rogue volunteered for labor, but she was beginning to feel how real and how soon this adventure was going to be. Without realizing it she was seeking the comfort of the only mother figure she'd ever known.
“C'mon.” Grissom insisted after he helped her push the last chair under the table. “I need to get home pretty quick. Momma's not feeling well.”
“Well then. Git.” Ash said with a scowl, not interested in what his needy mother wanted.
Grissom shuffled his feet a bit and crossed his arms, as a stubborn look beset his face. “No. Not till I give you a propper goodbye. What if yer up and gone in the morning before I see you again.”
Ash looked at him like he'd grown that third arm out of the center of his head again. “Well...I guess... I dunno. I guess ya wouldn't see me.”
Liser who was watching on, had to turn her head quickly and busy herself with wiping off a table to hide her smile.
“C'mon.” Grissom commanded, sending a glare in Liser's direction, not missing how much she was enjoying watching him talk to the wall that was Ash.
Ash was about to protest but he grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the Inn. She gave in to him and followed along, knowing there was no sense in putting it off. Once Grissom got something in his head, he was more stubborn than she was.
“What was THAT all about?” Ash demanded once he finally let go of her.
He shrugged and shuffled his feet again. “I didn't want an audience is all.”
Again, Ash gave him that stare like he'd grown a third arm. “Liser ain't no audience. Liser is Liser. What in Four Rivers is wrong with you Grissom Bicks.” Here she threw a hand on her hip in frustration while she shook her head.
“Just. Just. Put a soggy sock in it. You don't leave no room for me to think.” Grissom practically howled in frustration. It didn't matter how short she cut her hair or how loose she wore her shirt, the fact that she was girl was plainly evident to him. And the way her hazel eyes sparked when she was irritated was down right exciting.
Quite suddenly, Ash shut up and realized for the first time that her friend looked sick. “Yer lookin' kinda ill, Grissom. You ….” She clamped off suddenly when her much stronger chum put his hand over her mouth.
“Now you just be quiet and listen to me Ash Rhoiden. Yes. I'm quite sick. My stomach is lurchin' around like I ain't never felt. ...and it's all your fault.” Grissom said in an accusing tone to a very stricken Ash.
“You're leavin' tomorrow, and you know I can't go with you. Momma needs me here, she's right sick and I have to look after her. ...but when I heard you were goin'... I... I...got all tied up inside like I should go with ya.” He continued in a stammering way, wishing she could read his mind, because now she was looking at him like he'd grown another leg as well as another arm.
“I mean, whose gonna take care of ya out there? You never think before you jump into things. Whose gonna have yer back? That's kinda my job. You can't get by with things out there like you do here in Lanburg and yer too thick headed to know that.” Grissom was talking too fast now to think and before he realized it, he'd lifted his hand off of Ash's mouth and found it pushing back one of her long bangs.
Fortunately for the both of them, the rogue was too befuddled to speak and she just looked back at him oblivious to that exciting spark that lit her eyes. A full minute passed as they stared at each other. Her leaning against the inn with that cocky hand on her hip. Him staring down at her, his brown eyes full of confusion.
Finally Ash yelled at him and broke the trance. “Yer a loon, Grissom Bicks. An absolute loon. I oughtta have the Warden lock you up, cuz you done gone mad. Garrick n Ryke, and the wolf slayer are all gonna be with me. ...and if we get hurt, Harrod'll be there ta heal us.”
“Aaargh.” Grissom growled in frustration. “I'm just trying to say... that...” He stopped then, shook his head and bent down towards her. It all happened so fast. She thought he was going to whisper something in her ear, but before she fully realized his intention, he had locked his lips on hers and tangled his hand into the back of her hair.
His eyes were tightly closed.
Her eyes were as wide as tea saucers, and she didn't know what to make of the shiver that played along her neck where his hand ran through her hair. What she did know, with absolute clarity was that she wasn't the kissin' kinda girl!
His soft mouth was pressed onto hers, when her mouth opened suddenly...and bit down hard on poor Grissom's lower lip. He stepped back in pain, a wounded look etched deep upon his face and Ash took that opportunity to sock him a good one on his lower jaw.
“Now! There's yer proper goodbye.” She said as she slipped nimbly past his best attempt at grabbing her and scurried back into the inn.
When the bells tinkled Ash's arrival in the Inn, Liser looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected to see the girl again tonight, but could tell by the girl's rosy red cheeks that something was up. She warmed up on the inside as she tried to remember when if ever she'd seen the girl blush. She kept her tongue and gave the counter one last approving sweep, before quietly setting about pouring two cups of water.
“Here ya go honey. Is everything okay?” Liser asked in that sweet matronly tone that she used when no one else was around.
Ash shrugged her shoulders, feeling a bit guilty now, wondering if maybe there was a more appropriate response when a boy kissed you. She approached the counter and sulked her way onto a stool, propping her pouting self onto the hand that wasn't aching from the impact of Grissom's jaw.
After her third sigh she shrugged her shoulders again and looked at Liser, confusion shining in her hazel eyes. “I jist accidentally popped Grissom. He's a loon, I tell ya. Done gone crazy.”
Liser mummed her lips together tightly to keep from laughing at the spirited girl. “I think he's been crazy for a while now, Ash. You've just been too busy to notice it.”
“Really?” Ash asked hopefully, her spirits lifted now that her suspiscions were confirmed. Her conscious didn't feel quite so bad now that she'd hit a confirmed loon. “I guess them crazies can sneak up on a person.”
This time Liser laughed out loud, she couldn't help it. “Oh Ash. Honey, he's been crazy about you. ...and if you'd been paying any attention to him tonight, you'd have seen how upset he was that you were going to leave Lanburg with that book.”
“Oh.” Ash said. Her face falling into guilt again. “That'd explain why he tried to kiss me.”
Liser remained quiet and nodded her head.
“Well, good intentions or not. He's a loon. I ain't the kissin' kinda girl and he oughtta know it.” She gave her head a firm nod at the declaration, but it didn't do much to quell her guilt.
“Now, Ash. Honey, you're not a little girl any more. These boys that you've been friends with all of your life, they're bound to notice it sometime.” Liser paused and took a cautious step back, making sure to be out of range from Ash's short temper in case she didn't like what she had to say next. “...and, you're a very pretty girl.”
“I am not!” Ash fired back, aghast at the insult. “I kin track, and hunt...ain't no pretty girls that kin do that. And I kin wrestle and fight and fish and stand on my head longer'n anyone else in this whole town. Ain't to pretty girls that can do that neither.”
Only because Ash's entire pride was at stake could Liser Polarch keep her laughter in check. “Yes dear. I suppose you have a point. But you don't see how your eyes twinkle when you're jesting about, and when it rains you should put more care into wearing an over shirt. ...and perhaps tucking your shirt in before you stand on your head. These are things that a young man will notice and appreciate...” She held up a finger to still Ash's protest. “...wheher you want them to or not.”
“Well! I don't want them too!” Ash wailed in frustration. “I know what men want women folk fer and I ain't gonna sit on no farm and poop out babies. ...and I ain't gonna cook or clean, or rub anybody's stinkin' feet. ...and...”
“Ashlyn Rose.” Liser said sweetly as she stepped forward and embraced the girl that she'd watched grow for the last sixteen years. It was seldom if ever that the tom boy heard her true name spoken, but just then she didn't have the fight in her to care.
Liser held her and hugged her for several moments until she felt her rigid shoulders melt into the embrace. “Ashlyn, I've watched you grow before my eyes for sixteen springs and like it or not every bud has to blossom. You don't ever EVER have to do anything you don't want to. You remember that, but it isn't right to poke the eyes out of the people that notice. And believe you me, when you leave Lanburg behind, the men that you meet will not see you in the same light as the boys that you've grown up with.”
Ash squirmed away then, an awful expression of disgust on her face.
“Now, you run along Ash. Go find Grissom and make your peace with him. Otherwise, it'll eat at ya for days, and you've got important business with that book. I don't want you to be distracted.” Liser gave her another hug, her own eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“Wait.” Ash replied a bit sheepishly. “I've got somethin' fer ya.” She reached deep into her pockets, one hand in each and pulled out two handfulls of coins. “This is fer ya. Fer all those pies over the years that disappeared, and all the hand me downs and mendin' that ya done fer me. I thought this could repay ya fer all that kindness.”
The tears that had been glistening in Liser's eyes began to slip down her face. She wiped them away quickly and shook her head. She was a practical woman and wasn't one that usually gave into her emotions. “No, Ash. You keep that, you and the others will need it. And tomorrow I'll have another package for you. Some extra clothes, a mended pair of boots and a few more coins for ya. I know the Warden won't have any ta spare, but it would mean a lot to me if you'd take them.”
Ash swallowed hard and stuffed the coins back into her trouser pockets. She nodded her head, her throat aching in an uncharacteristic manner, so much so that she didn't know if she could talk. She nodded again and began making her way out of the Inn. She paused at the door when she heard Liser speak again.
“Ashlyn, remember to wear your over shirt when it rains, and tuck yourself in good before you go standing on your head. ...and, Ash... ya know I love ya girl. Wasn't a single pie that went missin' that I didn't put on that window ledge for ya. ...and I know you're a good girl, I know it deep in my pounding heart. Don't let anyone tell ya different. Ya hear?”
The rogue didn't reply, she couldn't reply and she didn't turn around either, embarrassed by the tears that had made their escape. She'd never heard anyone tell her that they loved her before, and she'd sworn to herself that she'd never say those words, not to anyone. ...but just then she felt them and knew that she'd miss Liser after tomorrow.
With a shoulder wrenching sigh Ashlyn Rose Rhoiden stepped through the door and made her way to say her goodbyes to the Warden.
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Comments
This was strong.
Very, very good job. It has a great command of the spirit of the people shes lived with in Lanburg, and how much more a person affects anothers life in rural places. Thats the exact starting spot I had envisioned in the 4 rivers. Very gratifying. The emotional parts were good too. I'm not the best judge, but I think you nailed the parting between Liser and Ash.
I'm looking forward to seeing her out in the wide world.
Why isn't the word 'phonetic' spelled the way it sounds?
What a wonderful, wonderful
What a wonderful, wonderful read, China. I think this is one of the finest, most complete stories I have ever read of yours. Your pacing, dialogue, and exactness of mood was incredible.
You are really playing up Ash's social foibles so well that they just feel right. I think you have her "voice" down 100%!!!
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This is some of your best work ever. Very nice. I shall now print it and eat it.
The others have said it much
The others have said it much better than I could have, so all I'll say is "Ditto!" lol
Seriously, very good stuff and it'll be interesting to watch her awareness spread out from here.